Systems and technologies for semiconductor processing and foreline cleaning

Abstract

A semiconductor processing system is provided. The system may include a processing chamber defining an internal volume, a foreline fluidly connected to the internal volume and configured to receive process gas from the internal volume, the foreline having a foreline network and a foreline outlet conduit downstream of the foreline network, a throttle valve in the foreline outlet conduit having a movable gate with an orifice and configured to control the flow of gas through the foreline, and a gas injector located in the foreline network and configured to guide ballast gas into the conduit of the foreline network. The system may also have a remote plasma source interface fluidly connected to the foreline outlet conduit downstream of the internal volume and having a plasma passage configured to guide a remote plasma flow into the foreline outlet conduit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Incorporation by Reference The application data sheet is submitted simultaneously with this specification as part of this application. Each application claiming a benefit or priority as specified in the application data sheet submitted simultaneously with this application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes into this specification.

Background Art

[0002] The description of the background art provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. The research of the present inventors is not admitted as prior art to the present disclosure, either explicitly or implicitly, to the extent that it is described in this background art section, including aspects of the description that may not be admitted as prior art at the time of filing. <000001l>

[0003] Chemical deposition systems can be used to deposit films on substrates (e.g., semiconductor wafers, etc.). Examples of chemical deposition systems can include plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) systems, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems, and atomic layer deposition (ALD) systems. Such systems can include one or more showerheads disposed within a processing chamber having a substrate processing region. The substrate processing region can be defined between the bottom surface of the showerhead and a wafer support (i.e., pedestal, substrate support, etc.) disposed below each showerhead and configured to support a substrate within the substrate region. The bottom surface of the showerhead can include ports configured to supply one or more precursor gases to facilitate deposition of a layer of material onto the substrate. The chemical deposition system can further include a foreline having various conduits fluidly connected to the processing chamber to discharge process gases and materials from the processing chamber, including a foreline network and a common foreline outlet conduit.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described herein are given in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, embodiments, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. The following non-limiting implementations are considered part of this disclosure, and other implementations will also become apparent from the entire disclosure and the accompanying drawings.

[0005] In some embodiments, a semiconductor processing system may be provided. The system may include a processing chamber defining an internal volume, a foreline fluidly connected to the internal volume and configured to receive process gas from the internal volume, the foreline having a foreline network and a foreline outlet conduit downstream of the foreline network, a throttle valve in the foreline outlet conduit having a movable gate with an orifice and configured to control the flow of gas through the foreline, and a gas injector located in the foreline network and configured to guide ballast gas into the conduit of the foreline network.

[0006] In some embodiments, the gas injector may have an outlet located in the center of the conduit.

[0007] In some embodiments, the gas injector may have an outlet having a circular cross-section.

[0008] In some embodiments, the conduit may have an internal bore diameter about 2 to 6 times the diameter of the outlet.

[0009] In some embodiments, the gas injector may have an outlet with a pneumatic exhaust muffler.

[0010] In any of the embodiments described above, the foreline network may have a first segment spanning between a first exhaust port of the processing chamber and a joint, a second segment spanning between a second exhaust port of the processing chamber and a joint, and a third segment spanning between the joint and the foreline and being fluidly interposed, wherein the conduit may be part of the third segment such that a gas injector is positioned along the third segment and configured to guide the ballast gas flow to the third segment.

[0011] In any of the above embodiments, the system may further have catchers in the foreline outlet conduit and downstream of the movable gate, and the gas flowing through the foreline is configured to come into contact with the catchers.

[0012] In some such embodiments, the catcher may have a storage surface configured to collide with the gas flowing through the foreline.

[0013] In some such embodiments, when the throttle valve is in the closed position, the gas may be configured to flow through the orifice into the catcher.

[0014] In some such embodiments, the catcher may further have an inlet configured to receive gas and a plurality of outlets.

[0015] In any of the above embodiments, the throttle valve may be a pendulum valve.

[0016] In any of the above embodiments, the surface of the movable gate may be made of aluminum.

[0017] In some embodiments, the movable gate includes stainless steel and aluminum coatings.

[0018] In any of the above embodiments, the system may further include a remote plasma source interface (RPS interface) having a plasma passage that is fluidly connected to a foreline outlet conduit downstream of the internal volume and configured to guide a remote plasma flow to the foreline outlet conduit.

[0019] In some such embodiments, the RPS interface can be fluidly interposed between the foreline network and the throttle valve.

[0020] In some such embodiments, the plasma passage can be configured to guide the plasma flow along a direction having a component parallel to the central axis of the foreline outlet conduit.

[0021] In some such embodiments, the plasma passage can be configured to guide the plasma flow along a direction between 30 and 60 degrees with respect to the central axis of the foreline outlet conduit.

[0022] In some such embodiments, the plasma passage can be configured to guide the plasma flow along a direction having a component perpendicular to the central axis of the foreline outlet conduit.

[0023] In some such embodiments, the RPS interface may further include a nozzle that defines a plasma path and extends into the interior of a foreline exit conduit.

[0024] In some such embodiments, the plasma passage may have a first end portion and a second end portion configured to guide the plasma flow into a foreline outlet conduit, the first end portion may have a first diameter, and the second end portion may have a second diameter smaller than the first diameter.

[0025] In some such embodiments, the RPS interface may further include a nozzle having one or more internal coolant channels configured to define a plasma path and allow coolant to flow.

[0026] In some such embodiments, the RPS interface can further include a nozzle that defines a plasma passageway, and one or more heat sinks thermally coupled to an outer surface of the nozzle and each having one or more coolant passages configured to flow a coolant therethrough.

[0027] In any of the above embodiments, the system can further include one or more controllers having a ballast gas source fluidly connected to the gas injector, one or more processors, and one or more memories storing instructions for controlling the system, the instructions being configured to cause one or more processors to flow ballast gas through the gas injector into the foreline network during one or more processing operations.

[0028] In some such embodiments, the system can further include a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure upstream of the gas injector, and the instructions can be further configured to cause one or more processors to cause one controller to receive a signal from the pressure sensor and, based on the detected pressure, flow ballast gas through the gas injector to thereby maintain a portion of the foreline network within a pressure range.

[0029] In some such embodiments, one of the controllers is an upstream pressure controller.

[0030] In some such embodiments, proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control can be used to flow ballast gas to maintain a portion of the foreline network within a pressure range.

[0031] In some such embodiments, the pressure sensor can be configured to measure the pressure within an internal volume.

[0032] In some such embodiments, the pressure range may be about 7 Torr to about 11 Torr, about 14 Torr to about 18 Torr, or about 16 Torr to about 20 Torr.

[0033] In some such embodiments, the instruction may be further configured to cause one or more processors to close a throttle valve while ballast gas flows through a gas injector.

[0034] In some such embodiments, one or more processing operations may involve depositing one or more materials onto a substrate.

[0035] In some such embodiments, the instructions may be further configured to cause one or more processors to cause a throttle valve to control the pressure within its internal volume during one or more other operations that are not processing operations.

[0036] In some such embodiments, one other operation may be a cleaning operation.

[0037] In some such embodiments, the system may further include a remote plasma source (RPS) configured to generate remote plasma, and a remote plasma source interface (RPS interface) having a plasma passage fluidly connected to the foreline and RPS downstream of the internal volume and configured to guide the remote plasma flow from the RPS to the foreline outlet conduit. Instructions may further configure one or more processors to cause the RPS to generate remote plasma and to flow the remote plasma into the foreline outlet conduit during a cleaning operation.

[0038] In some such embodiments, the instruction can be further configured to cause one or more processors to prevent ballast gas from flowing through the gas injector during the cleaning operation.

[0039] In some embodiments, a method may be provided. The method may include depositing one or more materials on a substrate in a processing chamber, wherein the processing chamber defines an internal volume and is fluidly connected to a foreline, the foreline having a foreline network fluidly connected to the internal volume and configured to receive process gases from the internal volume; maintaining a throttle valve in a closed position during deposition, the throttle valve having a movable gate having an orifice located in a foreline outlet conduit of the foreline and configured to control the gas flow through the foreline, the foreline outlet conduit being downstream of the foreline network and fluidly connected to the foreline network and configured to fluidly connect to an exhaust system; and flowing ballast gas through a gas injector into the conduit of the foreline network during deposition.

[0040] In some embodiments, flowing ballast gas may include maintaining the pressure of a portion of the foreline network within a pressure range.

[0041] In some embodiments, flowing ballast gas may include controlling the pressure within the internal volume.

[0042] In some embodiments, the method may further include detecting the pressure upstream of the gas injector, and flowing the ballast gas is at least partially based on the detected pressure.

[0043] In some such embodiments, detecting pressure may include detecting pressure within the internal volume of the processing chamber.

[0044] In some embodiments, the method may further include performing one or more other operations that are not deposition, while the throttle valve is not in the closed position and ballast gas is not flowing into the conduit.

[0045] In some such embodiments, flowing ballast gas may include maintaining the pressure of a portion of the foreline network within a certain pressure range, and during one or more other operations, the foreline network may be in a second pressure range lower than that pressure range.

[0046] In some such embodiments, one other operation may be a cleaning operation. In some further embodiments, the method may further include, during a cleaning operation, flowing remote plasma from a remote plasma source (RPS) to a remote plasma source interface (RPS interface) fluidly connected to a foreline outlet conduit and the RPS downstream of the internal volume, and having a plasma passage configured to guide the remote plasma flow from the RPS to the foreline outlet conduit.

[0047] Additional embodiments are described in the following detailed description, some of which may be apparent from this disclosure or known through the embodiments disclosed and / or the practice of the claimed subject matter.

[0048] The general description above and the detailed description below are illustrative and descriptive, and are intended to provide further explanation of the claimed subject matter.

[0049] Various embodiments disclosed herein are shown as examples, not as limitations, in the drawings of the appended drawings, where similar reference numerals refer to similar elements. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0050] [Figure 1A] This shows semiconductor processing systems in various implementation forms. [Figure 1B] Figure 1A shows an enlarged view of a part of the system. [Figure 1C] Figure 1A shows the semiconductor processing system 100 in various implementation configurations. [Figure 2] This shows a cutaway cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of the semiconductor processing system shown in Figure 1C, taken from region 1. [Figure 3] Figure 1C shows a cutaway cross-sectional view of region 1 of the semiconductor processing system. [Figure 4] This shows a cutaway cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of the semiconductor processing system shown in Figure 1C, taken from region 2. [Figure 5] Figure 4 shows an enlarged view of the pendulum valve. [Figure 6] Figure 5 shows an enlarged view of the pendulum valve. [Figure 7A] A schematic diagram of another exemplary semiconductor processing system in one configuration is shown. [Figure 7B] This figure shows an exemplary semiconductor processing system in the second configuration, as shown in Figure 7A. [Figure 8A] A simplified, enlarged schematic diagram of the system shown in Figure 7A is provided. [Figure 8B] A simplified, enlarged schematic diagram of the system shown in Figure 7B is presented. [Figure 9] Figure 1C shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary foreline antifouling assembly for the foreline, along the longitudinal axis of the catcher. [Figure 10] Figure 9 shows another implementation of the catcher. [Figure 11] Figure 9 shows yet another implementation of the catcher. [Figure 12] Figure 11 shows a perspective view of the bottom of the panel. [Figure 13] Figure 9 shows a side view of another implementation configuration of the foreline antifouling assembly. [Figure 14] Figure 13 shows a perspective view of the catcher's end face. [Figure 15] Figure 1C shows a cutaway cross-sectional view of region 1 of the semiconductor processing system. [Figure 16] A cross-sectional side view of a portion of a foreline with a gas injector is shown. [Figure 17] A cross-sectional side view of a portion of the foreline with another gas injector is shown. [Figure 18] This document presents one exemplary technique using various embodiments. [Figure 19]This shows cross-sectional views of process tools in several implementation forms. [Figure 20] Cross-sectional diagrams of vacuum pump systems in several implementation configurations are shown. [Figure 21] Plane diagrams of foreline networks in several implementation forms are shown. [Figure 22] A cross-sectional view of the process tool system is shown. [Figure 23] Figure 22 shows a cross-sectional view of the process tool system undergoing deposition treatment. [Figure 24] Figure 22 shows a cross-sectional view of the process tool system undergoing a cleaning operation. [Figure 25] This diagram shows a flowchart of the technology for performing deposition processing in a vacuum chamber, based on several implementation configurations. [Figure 26] This diagram shows a flowchart of the technology for performing cleaning operations within a vacuum processing chamber, based on several implementation configurations. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0051] A semiconductor processing tool has one or more processing chambers on which various processing operations are performed, such as deposition, etching, or both deposition and etching. Some processing chambers can be considered as single chambers, having a single station on which only one substrate is processed at a time. Other processing chambers can be considered as multi-station chambers, having two or more stations on which two or more substrates can be processed simultaneously. This can include two, three, four, five, six, or eight stations within a single chamber. During processing operations within a processing chamber, deposition precursors, reactants, gases, contaminants, particulate matter, by-products, etc., may flow through the processing chamber and be exhausted from the processing chamber through a foreline to an exhaust system. A foreline can have multiple conduits or branches configured to carry gas from multiple exhaust ports of the processing chamber to a single outlet of the foreline. Multiple conduits or branches can be referred to as a foreline network, and the single outlet of the foreline can be referred to as a common foreline outlet conduit. Various foreline conduits within a foreline network can be joined to one another until they reach a single common foreline outlet conduit that is fluidly connected to the exhaust system.

[0052] Many tools use an adjustable valve downstream of the processing chamber as part of the foreline to facilitate adjustment of chamber pressure at the working level while allowing process gas effluent to leak into a vacuum pump system. In some cases, the adjustable valve can be slightly opened to form a small orifice through which effluent gas flows into the foreline. The small valve opening can act as a flow limiter, allowing gas to exit the chamber and flow into a larger diameter conduit provided by the foreline downstream of the valve, while allowing the working pressure to be present in the chamber upstream of the adjustable valve. In this specification, this adjustable valve may be referred to as a throttle valve.

[0053] When deposit precursors, reactants, gases, contaminants, particulate matter, and by-products flow out of the processing chamber and through the foreline network, undesirable deposition of such particulate matter and by-products tends to occur within the foreline. This may include undesirable deposition on conduits and flow control elements such as control valves within the foreline. In some cases, the geometric shape of the foreline and its components may further contribute to this deposition. For example, material may be deposited in multiple focal regions of the foreline at different corresponding rates based on specific conditions associated with each focal region. These conditions may include the geometric shape of the foreline in the focal regions (e.g., a structure that can change the direction of process gas flow and / or converge two or more flows into a common path), the distance between the processing chamber and the focal regions, and so on. In another example where a control valve is located in the foreline, the geometric shape of the valve and the area around the valve may cause material to deposit near the valve at a much higher rate than in other sections of the foreline. Gas flowing through the small opening of an adjustable valve expands rapidly into the foreline, and its temperature can drop rapidly due to adiabatic or near-adiabatic expansion (Joule-Thomson effect). This rapid temperature drop can cause unused deposit precursors in the effluent gas to condense on the inner wall of the foreline and other components of the vacuum pump system. This undesirable deposition can have numerous undesirable effects, including clogging conduits and flow control elements, thereby preventing them from functioning properly or not at all, and adversely affecting the flow rate and pressure inside the foreline and processing chamber.

[0054] Many techniques for removing undesirable deposits in forelines fail to adequately remove the deposits. For example, some semiconductor processing tools perform cleaning operations by flowing plasma through the processing chamber into the foreline. While these cleaning operations can clean components or features within the processing chamber and foreline, such operations may not be effective in cleaning the foreline and may adversely affect the processing chamber. For example, the effectiveness of plasma for removing material in a foreline may depend on the plasma flow rate (units of volume or mass per unit time), the duration of the plasma flow, and the amount of free radicals in the plasma that have already recombined before reaching the material in the focal region of the foreline. Some areas of the foreline may have a higher material deposition rate than other areas, so to adequately clean these areas, a plasma flow from the chamber may be used at a higher flow rate and / or longer duration than is necessary to clean only the processing chamber. These flow conditions may unnecessarily expose the chamber surface to the plasma for longer or more intensely than is necessary to clean those surfaces, and thus may damage them. Alternatively, such focal areas may be incompletely cleaned during each cleaning cycle, potentially leading to clogging or other defects due to material buildup over time.

[0055] This specification provides novel techniques for reducing and removing deposits in forelines. Several implementations have a foreline flow control valve that uses a gate with an orifice (e.g., a through-hole) that provides a flow path through the valve with few obstructions and less deposit than the flow around the outer region of the valve. In some cases, while this valve with the orifice is in the closed position, the valve acts as a flow limiter that generates back pressure in the foreline. The back pressure can provide a gradual pressure drop of the gas that can prevent rapid expansion of the gas and thereby prevent or reduce undesirable condensation and deposits of material in the foreline. Some implementations may also have a catcher downstream of the foreline flow control valve, configured to provide an accumulation surface for undesirable deposits. This accumulation surface is positioned in the foreline such that the gas in the foreline flows onto the accumulation surface and deposits there instead of in other areas of the foreline. The catcher can be more easily cleaned and / or replaced.

[0056] In some embodiments, ballast gas is flowed into the foreline network to provide flow conditions within the foreline network that reduce and prevent undesirable deposition. The ballast gas may be injected using a gas diffuser or a gas muffler, both of which can reduce undesirable shear and turbulent gas flow that causes material deposition. Some embodiments also provide advantageous pressure control within the processing chamber by at least partially using ballast gas flow into the foreline. Ballast gas flow into the foreline can also generate back pressure or increase the pressure within the foreline, thereby allowing control of the pressure within the processing chamber and maintaining the processing chamber pressure within a desired pressure range.

[0057] Figure 1A shows a semiconductor processing system in various configurations. The semiconductor processing system 100 may be a chemical deposition system, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system, a plasma chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) system, an etching system, an atomic layer etching (ALE) system, or a system configured to perform both deposition and etching. The system 100 has a processing chamber 106 with an internal volume 108 and one or more exhaust ports 109. The system 100 also includes two processing stations 119a and 119b, each having one or more wafer supports 110 configured to support a corresponding substrate 112 during one or more semiconductor processing operations (e.g., deposition process, preparation process, heat treatment process, etc.) performed within the internal volume 108. In this implementation, the semiconductor processing system 100 further comprises one or more showerheads 114 (e.g., recessed showerheads, chandelier-type showerheads, etc.) positioned above the wafer support 110, and the showerheads 114 may be used to flow one or more process gases onto the substrate 112 during processing.

[0058] System 100 also includes a foreline 102 configured to receive process gas and material from the exhaust port 109 of the processing chamber 106. The foreline 102 has a foreline network 103 having multiple conduits fluidly connected to a single common outlet conduit, i.e., a foreline outlet conduit 105. As shown in the figure, the foreline network 103 has a first segment 196a enclosed by a dotted line that defines a flow path from one exhaust port 109 to a junction 111 where two or more segments join. The first segment has a first nonlinear section 197b and a linear section 197a. The foreline network 103 has a second segment 196b that defines a flow path from another exhaust port 109 to the junction 111. The second segment 196b has a first nonlinear section 197d and a linear section 197c. The gas flow from the processing chamber enters the foreline 102 at the exhaust port and flows through the interior 118 of the foreline 102 to a common outlet conduit 105 and exhaust system 122, as indicated by the arrows.

[0059] The foreline 102 includes a foreline wall defining an interior 118 that is fluidly connected to the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106. In this implementation, the foreline 102 is made of stainless steel and / or aluminum alloy components, and the interior of the foreline 102 may also have an aluminum or aluminum alloy coating that can prevent or reduce undesirable deposits. The foreline 102 further includes an exhaust interface 120 configured to fluidly connect to an exhaust system 122 (e.g., a vacuum device, a pump device, etc.). The interior 118 provides a conduit configured to carry one or more process gases from the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106 to the exhaust system 122 during one or more semiconductor processing operations.

[0060] System 100 also includes an adjustable or controllable valve in the foreline configured to control the gas flow through the foreline. Many plasma-assisted deposition and etching processes can be performed at varying pressures, and an adjustable valve can be used between the chamber and the foreline outlet conduit. The adjustable valve facilitates adjustment of the chamber pressure at the working level while allowing process gas effluents to leak into a vacuum pump system or exhaust system. For example, the adjustable valve may be a throttle valve, pendulum valve, butterfly valve, or gate valve. These terms may be used synonymously herein.

[0061] Here, in Figure 1A, the control valve is a throttle valve, which may be a pendulum valve 162 with a movable gate 166 having an orifice 174. The orifice 174 may be configured to reduce fouling caused by material accumulation associated with meandering flow paths and higher flow velocities, for example. The orifice 174 is located in the central region of the gate 166 to roughly maintain the flow direction and flow rate of a portion of the process gas flowing along the inner core space of the foreline interior 118, which is radially spaced inward from the foreline wall 116. The pendulum valve 162 can support a large conductance range without the orifice 174. When operating to control the pressure and / or flow upstream of the valve 162, the gate 166 is in one or more open positions. In some such open positions, the flow around the outer region of the gate 166 can cause turbulence in the gas and cause undesirable deposition on the gate 166 and the structure around the gate 166. In some embodiments, as will be described in more detail below, the gate 166 is in a closed position during certain processing operations, such as deposition, etching, or both, thereby allowing the gas flowing through the foreline 102 to flow through the orifice 174. By closing the gate 166, undesirable deposition on the gate and surrounding structures, such as in its outer region, is reduced or eliminated. Figure 1A shows the gate 166 in the closed position so that the gas flow through the foreline outlet conduit 105 passes through the orifice 174. Various implementations of the valve 162 are discussed below.

[0062] In some embodiments, the gate 166 may have a surface having aluminum configured to reduce the recombination of radicals flowing through the foreline. In some cases, the gate may have an aluminum coating on another material such as stainless steel, and in other examples, the entire gate may be made of a hard anodized alloy configured to reduce the recombination of radicals flowing through the foreline.

[0063] Some embodiments have a remote plasma source interface (RPS interface) fluidly connected to the foreline. In Figure 1A, the RPS interface 126 is fluidly connected to the foreline 102 and to the foreline outlet conduit 105. As shown in Figure 1A, the RPS interface 126 is located on the foreline outlet conduit 105 so that remote plasma from the remote plasma source flows through the RPS interface 126 in the foreline outlet conduit 105 to the foreline 102. The remote plasma flowing into the foreline 102 can clean the components downstream of the RPS interface 126. As shown, a valve 162 is located between the RPS interface 126 and the exhaust interface 120 so that the remote plasma flowing through the RPS interface 126 to the foreline 102 can come into contact with and clean the gate 166 and the structure of the valve 162. In some implementations, the RPS interface 126 is located near a focal region having a first threshold deposition rate which may be higher than the deposition rate, and / or has an exit vector directed towards the focal region. Various implementations of the RPS interface 126 will be described later.

[0064] As described above, some implementations may have one or more gas injectors in the foreline to inject ballast gas into the foreline. This gas injection into the foreline can help prevent and reduce material deposits in the foreline, control the pressure in the foreline and internal volume, or both. As will be described in more detail below, by flowing ballast gas into the foreline, the valve 162 having orifice 174 can be kept closed during processing operations, reducing undesirable deposits on the valve 162. Keeping the valve in the closed position during processing operations also advantageously provides back pressure upstream of the valve 162 in the foreline outlet conduit 105 and foreline network 103. By acting as a flow limiter or orifice plate, the valve 162 causes flow resistance that generates this back pressure. Back pressure can provide a gradual pressure drop for the gas moving from the chamber's internal volume 108 through the foreline 102, which prevents rapid expansion of the gas and thereby prevents or reduces undesirable condensation and reaction of components in the gas, as well as the accumulation of material in the foreline. The back pressure may be at least 5 Torr or greater.

[0065] By closing valve 162, the pressure upstream of the foreline 102 and internal volume 108 is not actively controlled or maintained. Rather, valve 162, having orifice 174, acts as an orifice plate or flow limiter. The ballast gas flow into foreline 102 advantageously increases the pressure within the foreline network 103, enabling active pressure control of the foreline and chamber internal volume 108 while valve 162 is closed. This ballast gas flow also provides an active pressure control function while reducing and removing undesirable deposits within foreline 102. In Figure 1A, gas injector 115 is located in the linear section 197c of the foreline network 103.

[0066] Figure 1B shows an enlarged view of a portion of the system in Figure 1A. Here, the bottom of the processing chamber 106, the internal volume 108, and the exhaust port 109 are shown along with a portion of the foreline network 103 and the foreline outlet conduit 105. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 100 also has a gas injector 115 located in a foreline 102, which is located in the foreline network 103. For illustrative purposes, the gas injector 115 is shown in the linear section 197c of the second segment. The gas injector 115 is fluidly connected to a ballast gas source 117, which may be an inert gas such as nitrogen, argon, or helium. The flow of ballast gas, represented by the dotted arrow exiting the gas injector 115, can create back pressure in the foreline 102 upstream of the gas injector 115, which can be used to control the pressure in the internal volume 108. Various implementations of the gas injector are further provided below.

[0067] Figure 1C shows the semiconductor processing system 100 of Figure 1A in various implementation configurations. Here, additional or alternative features are shown in Figure 1A. The system 100 has a foreline 102 configured to clean one or more focal regions 104 of the foreline 102 during a foreline cleaning operation. The foreline 102 includes a foreline wall 116 defining an interior 118 which is fluidly connected to the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106. In this implementation configuration, the foreline 102 is made of stainless steel and / or aluminum alloy components. The foreline 102 further includes an exhaust interface 120 configured to fluidly connect to an exhaust system 122 (e.g., a vacuum device, a pump device, etc.). The interior 118 provides conduits configured to carry one or more process gases from the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106 to the exhaust system 122 during one or more semiconductor processing operations.

[0068] The process gas flow through the foreline 102 can deposit material 113 from the process gas flow into multiple focal regions 104 of the foreline 102 at different corresponding rates based on specific conditions associated with each focal region. These conditions can include the geometric shape of the foreline in that focal region (e.g., a structure that can change the direction of the process gas flow and / or converge two or more flows into a common path), the distance between the processing chamber 106 and the focal region, and so on. For example, the foreline 102 can branch into multiple segments 196, each comprising multiple linear sections 197a, each defining a linear portion of the corresponding flow path through the foreline 102, and multiple nonlinear sections 197b (e.g., arc-shaped elbow sections), each defining a nonlinear portion of the corresponding flow path through the foreline 102. The nonlinear sections 197b are configured to change the direction of the corresponding flow path and can therefore cause free radicals in the plasma to interact with those nonlinear sections 197b at a rate faster than the rate at which radicals can interact with the linear sections 197a. As another example, one of the linear sections 197a may define a common linear section CLP of two or more flow paths redirected from two other corresponding linear sections 197a. Separate flows originating from different exhaust ports 109 of the processing chamber 106 may be combined within the common linear section CLP to deposit material within it. Other conditions that may affect the rate of material deposition may include the process gas flow rate (in units of volume or mass per unit time), the duration of the process gas flow, the composition of the process gas, and the composition of the foreline.

[0069] In some cases, a foreline flow control valve, such as a throttle valve or pendulum valve 162, can be placed downstream of the nonlinear section 197b, for example, in a portion of the foreline 102 that receives process gas from all exhaust ports 109, thereby allowing the gas flow in all upstream segments of the foreline to be controlled by the foreline flow control valve. Due to the geometry of such a valve, material may accumulate near the valve at a much higher rate than in both the linear section 197a and the nonlinear section 197b of the foreline 102. The area around the valve may be associated with multiple conditions that collectively block the flow (e.g., a bottleneck for all process gases, both the geometry of the foreline and the geometry of the valve blocking the flow, etc.), and therefore may contribute more to material deposition than other areas of the foreline 102. Furthermore, in forelines for multi-station chambers, such a valve may effectively experience a potential deposition rate several times higher than that which the upstream segments of the foreline may experience. For example, in a four-station chamber where each station has a separate exhaust port connected to a corresponding foreline segment, each time the gas flow from two separate sections of the foreline combines into one downstream foreline section, the amount of sediment gas exposure received by the downstream section can be approximately twice that received by either upstream section of the foreline. Therefore, at any point in the system where a flow control valve may be located, the rate of exposure to sediment-forming gas can be several times higher than that of the upstream section of the foreline.

[0070] The semiconductor processing system 100 may further include a chamber cleaning plasma source 199, which is fluidly connected to the processing chamber 106 and configured to flow plasma into the processing chamber 106 to clean components or features within the processing chamber 106. The foreline 102 may be configured to discharge the plasma from the processing chamber 106. The plasma from the chamber cleaning plasma source 199 primarily cleans components or features within the processing chamber 106, but the plasma can also remove material 113 deposited in the foreline 102. The effectiveness of the plasma for removing material in the foreline 102 may depend on the plasma flow rate (in units of volume or mass per unit time), the duration of the plasma flow, and the amount of free radicals in the plasma that have already recombined before reaching the material in the focal regions of the foreline 102. As described above, some focal regions may have a higher material deposition rate than others and therefore may experience the deposition of a thicker layer of material than other regions within a given time interval. To completely remove material from such focal regions with higher material deposition rates, the semiconductor processing system 100 may flow plasma from the chamber cleaning plasma source 199 at a higher flow rate and / or for a longer duration than required to clean only the processing chamber 106. These flow conditions may unnecessarily expose the chamber surfaces to the plasma for longer or more intensely than required to clean those surfaces, and thus may damage them. Alternatively, such focal regions may be incompletely cleaned during each cleaning cycle, potentially leading to clogging or other defects due to material accumulation over time.

[0071] Material accumulation in the foreline 102 can be removed without damaging the chamber surface by using a second plasma source, separate from the chamber cleaning plasma source 199, configured to direct cleaning plasma directly into the foreline 102. As described in detail below, the foreline 102 includes a remote plasma source interface 126 (RPS interface) having an exit vector positioned near and / or directed thereto a focal region 104 having a first threshold deposition rate which can be higher than the deposition rate in one or more other regions of the foreline 102. In one implementation, the first threshold deposition rate may be greater than the deposition rate in all other regions of the foreline. In other implementations, the first threshold deposition rate may be less than the deposition rate in one or more other focal regions of the foreline, if the system has other features that clean those focal regions or prevent accumulation.

[0072] The RPS interface 126 is configured to fluidly connect to the remote plasma source 128 such that the plasma from the remote plasma source 128 flows through the RPS interface 126 to the foreline 102 without first flowing through the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106. The RPS interface 126 is fluidly interposed between the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106 and the exhaust interface 120, more specifically between the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106 and one or more focal regions 104 of the foreline 102 where the material 113 is deposited at high concentrations. In this implementation, the remote plasma source 128 is configured to generate plasma using oxygen and / or fluorine (i.e., to generate oxygen and / or fluorine radicals, etc.), but other suitable gases may be used instead. The RPS interface 126 is located within a predetermined distance of one or more focal regions 104 and / or directed towards those focal regions 104 to reduce or eliminate the amount of plasma lost for recombination (for example, related to the plasma interacting with the processing chamber 106 and the foreline wall 116) and to conserve the effectiveness of the plasma for removing material 113 from one or more focal regions 104 having the highest accumulation of material 113. Plasma from the chamber cleaning plasma source 199 can be introduced into the processing chamber 106 to remove deposited material from the surface within the processing chamber 106, while a second plasma from the remote plasma source 128 is introduced into the foreline 102 via the RPS interface 126 to remove deposited material within the foreline 102. If the chamber plasma cleaning is completed before the foreline plasma cleaning is completed, the plasma flow to the processing chamber 106 can be stopped, and the plasma flow through the RPS interface 126 can be continued to complete the cleaning of the foreline 102 without unnecessarily exposing the chamber surface to additional plasma exposure.

[0073] Figure 2 shows a cutaway section of an exemplary portion of the semiconductor processing system of Figure 1C, taken from region 1. In this configuration, the RPS interface 126 includes a nozzle 130 having a first surface facing radially inward toward the central axis, which defines a plasma passage 132 that is fluidly interposed between the remote plasma source 128 and the foreline 102. The plasma passage 132 is configured to guide the plasma along a direction D1 having a component D1' parallel to the downstream direction D2 of the foreline 102 and another component D'' perpendicular to direction D2 during foreline cleaning operations. In some embodiments, the downstream direction D2 can be parallel or substantially parallel to the central axis of the foreline conduit or foreline wall 116. One or more focal regions 104 of the foreline 102 where material 113 is deposited can be located along the direction D1 from the RPS interface 126 so that the plasma from the RPS interface 126 can reach the material 113 more directly, thereby reducing the possibility of radicals in the plasma recombining before reaching the material 113. This allows the cleaning effect of the plasma (e.g., oxygen and fluorine radicals) for removing material 113 to be maintained.

[0074] The plasma passage 132 can be configured to guide plasma along a predetermined angular direction between a first endpoint and a second endpoint (including the first endpoint and the second endpoint) relative to the foreline wall 116 during foreline cleaning. In this implementation, the plasma passage 132 can be configured to guide plasma along a predetermined angular direction between the foreline wall 116 in the range of 30 to 60 degrees (including the 30-degree direction relative to the foreline wall 116 and the 60-degree direction relative to the foreline wall 116) during foreline cleaning. In other implementations, the plasma passage 132 can be configured to guide plasma along any angular direction relative to the foreline wall 116 during foreline cleaning or other processes. In some cases, when the plasma passage 132 is configured to guide the plasma in a direction less than 30 degrees relative to the foreline wall 116 (e.g., parallel or nearly parallel to the downstream direction D2), the plasma can flow through the area to be cleaned, and therefore less material is removed from that area compared to the amount of material removed by plasma guided along a direction greater than 30 degrees relative to the foreline wall 116. However, such a configuration may be more suitable for removing material accumulation on the same side of the foreline 102 as the RPS interface 126. In other cases, when the plasma passage 132 is configured to guide the plasma in a direction greater than 60 degrees relative to the foreline wall 116 (e.g., perpendicular or nearly perpendicular to the downstream direction D2), free radicals in the plasma can recombine closer to the RPS interface 126, and therefore the plasma efficiency downstream of the RPS interface 126 may be lower than the plasma efficiency of plasma guided along a direction less than 60 degrees relative to the foreline wall 116. However, this implementation configuration may be more useful in situations where the area with the greatest material accumulation is directly opposite the RPS interface.

[0075] In this implementation, the nozzle 130 has a tip 134 that protrudes into the interior 118 of the foreline 102, thereby allowing the nozzle 130 to introduce plasma into the interior 118 of the foreline 102 at a position radially inwardly spaced from the foreline wall 116, and the nozzle 130 can direct the plasma flow in a direction at least somewhat parallel to the foreline wall 116 to reduce the interaction between the foreline wall 116 and the plasma. In this implementation, the RPS interface 126 may be made of a hard anodized alloy configured to reduce the recombination of oxide radicals and fluoride radicals flowing through the plasma passage 132.

[0076] The RPS interface 126 (e.g., nozzle 130) has a first end portion 136 connected to a remote plasma source 128 and a second end portion 138 connected to the RPS interface 126 of the foreline 102. In this implementation, the first end portion 136 may include a lip or collar extending radially outward from the central axis of the plasma passage 132 and / or circumferentially outward around the outer surface of the RPS interface 126. The plasma passage 132 of the nozzle 130 may be tapered from the first end portion 136 toward the second end portion 138 (for example, along the first end portion 136 to a portion of the nozzle 130 spaced apart from the second end portion 138, to a portion of the nozzle 130 adjacent to the second end portion 138, upstream of the second end portion 138 and terminating there, through the second end portion 138 and terminating downstream of the second end portion 138). The plasma passage 132 may have a first segment having a first diameter DIA1 at a first end portion 136 and a second segment having a second diameter DIA2 at a second end portion 138, wherein the first diameter DIA1 of the first segment may be greater than the second diameter DIA2 of the second segment. The plasma passage 132 may be straight through the first end portion 136 and curve at least partially along the second end portion 138 and through the tip 134. The curvature of the plasma passage 132 along the second end portion 138 and through the tip 134 can be configured to guide the plasma along direction D1 as described above. In some implementations, the outer surface of the nozzle 130 may have a tapered diameter from the first end portion 136 toward the second end portion 138 (for example, along the first end portion 136 to the portion of the nozzle 130 spaced apart from the second end portion 138, to the portion of the nozzle 130 adjacent to the second end portion 138, to the upstream side of the second end portion 138, terminating upstream of the second end portion 138, passing through the second end portion 138, and terminating downstream of the second end portion 138).

[0077] As further shown in Figure 2, the nozzle 130 includes an inlet port 140 and an outlet port 142, both located on the first end portion 136 of the nozzle wall 144. In other configurations, the inlet port 140 and the outlet port 142 may be located on other parts of the RPS interface 126 (e.g., a second end portion 138, between the first end portion 136 and the second end portion 138). The inlet port 140 and the outlet port 142 may extend radially outward from the outer surface of the plasma passage 132 and / or the RPS interface 126. The inlet port 140 and the outlet port 142 may be located close to each other and / or circumferentially spaced apart from each other.

[0078] The nozzle 130 further includes one or more coolant passages 146 located along its outer surface and within the nozzle wall 144. As shown in Figure 2, the one or more coolant passages 146 define one or more coolant flow paths from the inlet port 140 to the outlet port 142 and through the second end portion 138.

[0079] One or more coolant passages 146 within the nozzle wall 144 are positioned around the plasma passage 132 and configured to flow a coolant (e.g., water, air, etc.). The coolant maintains the temperature of the plasma flowing from the remote plasma source 128 below a predetermined temperature threshold (e.g., 200 degrees Fahrenheit) to reduce or prevent thermal damage to the nozzle 130 and / or foreline 102. The coolant also maintains the plasma temperature below a predetermined temperature threshold to conserve oxygen in the plasma and reduce the recombination of free radicals in the plasma before it reaches the focal region 104 where the plasma is cleaned. In this implementation, one or more coolant passages 146 may be located in a first end portion 136 and include a first plenum 150 fluidly connected to the inlet port 140. One or more coolant passages 146 may further include a second plenum 152 in a second end portion 138. One or more coolant passages 146 may further include a third plenum 154 located in the first end portion 136 and fluidly connected to an outlet port 142. One or more coolant passages 146 may further include a set of one or more first channels or passages 156 fluidly interposed between the first plenum 150 and the second plenum 152, and a set of one or more second channels or passages 158 fluidly interposed between the second plenum 152 and the third plenum 154.

[0080] Figure 3 shows another exemplary RPS interface 226 that is somewhat similar to the RPS interface 126 in Figure 2. To avoid excessive repetition, elements in the implementation in Figure 3 that are similar to the elements shown in Figure 2 are numbered with the same last two digits as those similar elements in Figure 2. Thus, it will be understood that the descriptions provided above with respect to the elements in the implementation in Figure 2 are equally applicable to the similar elements in Figure 3 unless otherwise indicated. For the sake of brevity, under the understanding that the above descriptions of such elements are applicable to these similar elements in Figure 3, no descriptions of these elements that overlap with the above descriptions of similar elements in this specification are provided. This is applicable to any figure in this specification, including, for example, Figures 1A to 1C and Figures 7A to 8B.

[0081] Figure 3 shows a cutaway cross-sectional view of region 1 of the semiconductor processing system in Figure 1C. The RPS interface 126 in Figure 2 includes a nozzle 130 that protrudes into the interior 118 of the foreline 102 through an opening 160 defined in the foreline wall 116, whereas the RPS interface 226 in Figure 3 terminates at an opening 260 in the foreline wall 216 without protruding into the interior 218 of the foreline 202. The valve 262 in Figure 3 is in the open position with material 213 deposited on it. Omitting the RPS interface 226 from the interior 218 of the foreline 202 reduces resistance to the process gas flow through the foreline 202 and prevents material from the process gas flow from depositing on the RPS interface 226 (or at least reduces the rate at which such deposition can occur).

[0082] The plasma passage 232 in Figure 3 differs from the plasma passage 132 in Figure 2 in that the plasma passage 232 is configured to guide the plasma along direction D3 without any components parallel to the downstream direction D2 of the foreline 202, and as described above, this direction D2 can be parallel or substantially parallel to the central axis of the foreline 202. In this implementation, the plasma passage 232 can be configured to guide the plasma toward a portion of the foreline wall 216 on the opposite side of the opening 260, spaced within a predetermined distance PD from the first focal region of the focal region 204, so that the introduced plasma can quickly reach the focal region 204, thereby avoiding a significant decrease in plasma cleaning efficiency.

[0083] The RPS interface 126 in Figure 2 includes a plurality of first channels 156 fluidly interposed in parallel between the first plenum 150 and the second plenum 152, and a plurality of second channels 158 fluidly interposed in parallel between the second plenum 152 and the third plenum 154. The RPS interface 226 in Figure 3 includes a single meandering coolant passage 246 that alternately passes through a plurality of sections of the first end portion 236 and a plurality of sections of the second end portion 238. The single meandering coolant passage 246 has one end fluidly connected to an inlet port 240 and the other end fluidly connected to an outlet port 242. The coolant passage 246 includes a linear segment extending parallel to and adjacent to the plasma passage and a U-shaped segment extending circumferentially and adjacently around the plasma passage 232. The linear segment and the U-shaped segment are fluidly connected to each other. In other implementations, the RPS interface 226 may include a common inlet port (e.g., inlet port 240) and a common outlet port (e.g., outlet port 242) and a plurality of meandering coolant passages (e.g., extending parallel to each other, nested to each other, etc.) that are fluid-connected. In yet another implementation, the RPS interface 226 may include an alternative arrangement of coolant passages fluid-connected to a separate inlet port and / or separate outlet port and / or one or more segments that are concentric and / or coaxial with the plasma passage 232.

[0084] The RPS interface 226 may have a cylindrical body having a plasma passage 232 including a tapered segment located at a first end portion 236 along the RPS interface 226. The plasma passage 232 may further include a linear segment that is fluidly connected to the tapered segment. The linear segment may extend at least partially along the first end portion 236 and through a second end portion 238.

[0085] Next, the characteristics of throttle valves in forelines in various implementation forms will be described. Figure 4 shows a cutaway cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of the semiconductor processing system 100 of Figure 1C, taken from region 2. As mentioned above, valve 162 may be the same valve as shown in the simplified system 100 of Figure 1A. Figure 4 shows a foreline 102 having a pendulum valve 162 with a gate 166 containing an orifice 174 configured to reduce fouling caused by material accumulation associated with meandering flow paths and higher flow velocities. The orifice 174 is located in the central region 176 of the gate 166 to roughly maintain the flow direction and flow rate of a portion of the process gas flowing along the inner core space of the foreline interior 118, which is radially spaced inward from the foreline wall 116. The pendulum valve 162 can support a large conductance range without the orifice 174.

[0086] In some implementations, when performing certain chemical deposition processes, the gate 166 may be moved to one or more small valve angles below a predetermined angular threshold, and thus may require the process gas to flow along a meandering path (i.e., between the outer edge region 168 of the gate 166 and the inner circumference of the sealing ring 164, which has features configured to be coupled to the foreline 102). The meandering flow path may increase the likelihood that entrained polymer particles, while the pendulum valve 162 is positioned at a small angle, will detach from the streamline and adhere to the surface, causing clogging. Furthermore, in some cases, the chemical deposition process may require the process gas to flow at high speed along the meandering path. This may cause the material 113 to deposit in or near the interface between the outer edge region 168 of the gate 166 and the inner circumference 178 of the sealing ring 164, accumulating until the gate 166 seizes. In some implementations, this problem is mitigated or minimized by including an orifice 174 that allows the majority of the process gas to flow through an inner core space of the foreline interior 118, which is radially separated inward from the foreline wall 116, and minimizes flow interruptions by maintaining the flow direction and flow rate within the inner core space. The flow of process gas through the orifice 174 significantly reduces the amount of gas flowing along a meandering path around the outer edge region 168 of the gate 166, and therefore reduces contamination of the outer edge region 168 or its vicinity. The reduction in contamination of the outer edge region 168 or its vicinity can prevent gate 166 from burning out, reduce preventative maintenance of the foreline 102, and save uptime and corresponding throughput of the semiconductor processing system 100. In this implementation, the central region 176 of the gate 166 may have a thickness greater than the thickness of the outer edge region 168 of the gate 166. In other implementations, the central region 176 of the gate 166 may have a thickness less than or equal to the thickness of the outer edge region 168 of the gate 166.

[0087] In this implementation, the pendulum valve 162 is fluidly interposed between the RPS interface 126 and the exhaust interface 120. As best shown in Figures 4-6, the sealing ring 164 is positioned coaxially with the foreline 102. The gate 166 is movable relative to the seat 172 and the sealing ring 164 between a first position (i.e., the closed position in Figures 4 and 5) in which the outer edge region 168 is sealed-engaged with at least a portion of the sealing ring 164, and a second position (i.e., the open position shown in Figure 6) in which that portion of the outer edge region 168 is displaced radially inward from the inner circumference 178 of the sealing ring 164. As provided herein, the gate 166 is movable to a plurality of open positions, one of which is shown in Figure 6. The valve 162 is configured to control the pressure in the foreline 102 and the chamber internal volume 108 by restricting the flow through the foreline 102 by positioning the gate to various open positions. As described herein, the gate 166 is positioned in the closed position shown in Figures 4 and 5, and the gate 166 and orifice 174 function as an orifice plate providing constant flow restriction. The foreline includes a seat 172 configured to receive a portion of the outer edge region 168 when the gate 166 is in the first position (Figures 4 and 5), thereby at least a portion of the sealing ring 164 seal-engages with a portion of the outer edge region 168, and all process gas is directed through the orifice 174. The foreline 102 is not limited to a pendulum valve for flow control or regulation, and other valves with gates equipped with orifices (e.g., linear gate valves) can be used instead of the pendulum valve 162.

[0088] Figure 5 shows an enlarged view of the pendulum valve of Figure 4, and Figure 6 shows an enlarged view of the pendulum valve of Figure 5. As shown, in some embodiments, the pendulum valve 162 may have a notch 170 in the outer edge region 168 of the gate 166 so as the gate 166 moves by small angular motion from a first position (Figure 5) to a second position (Figure 6), allowing the pendulum valve 162 to precisely control and gradually adjust the flow rate. The flow of process gas through the pendulum valve 162 may be distributed between the orifice 174 and the notch 170 when the gate 166 is in the second position, and as a result the pendulum valve 162 experiences less fouling in the outer edge region 168 of the gate 166 compared to the amount of fouling associated with a gate that does not have an orifice and requires all process gas to flow along a meandering path around the outer edge region of the gate. The plasma passage 232 of the RPS interface 226 (Figure 3) can be configured to guide the plasma generally toward the location of the outer edge region 168 of the gate 166 when the gate 166 is in the second position.

[0089] The semiconductor processing system is configured to set or adjust the chamber pressure of the processing chamber 106 when the gate 166 is in a first position where at least a portion of the sealing ring 164 is sealed-engaged with at least a portion of the outer edge region 168, so as to block the flow of process gas through the interface between the outer edge region 168 and the inner circumference 178 of the sealing ring 164, requiring all process gas to flow through the orifice 174. In this implementation, as shown in Figure 1C, the semiconductor processing system further includes a gas distribution system 180 having a plurality of valves 182 that can be controlled to selectively flow one or more process gases from a plurality of different gas sources 184 connectable to the gas distribution system 180 into the processing chamber 106, and then through the orifice 174 of the pendulum valve 162. The systems in Figures 1A and 1B may have these features, and they are not shown for clarity.

[0090] The semiconductor processing system 100 further includes a controller 186 configured to control a valve 182 of a gas distribution system 180 to allow one or more process gases to flow into the processing chamber 106 and to adjust the chamber pressure associated with all process gases flowing through the orifice when the gate 166 is in a first position. The controller 186 is further configured to control a valve 182 of the gas distribution system 180 to prevent one or more process gases from flowing into the processing chamber 106 during a foreline cleaning operation. In this implementation, the semiconductor processing system 100 further includes a remote plasma source 128 and a foreline plasma valve 188 that is fluidically interposed between the remote plasma source 128 and the RPS interface 126 of the foreline 102. The controller 186 is configured to control the remote plasma source 128 and the foreline plasma valve 188 to allow plasma from the remote plasma source 128 to flow into the foreline 102 during a foreline cleaning operation.

[0091] The controller 186 is further configured to control the foreline plasma valve 188 to prevent one or more process gases from flowing through the RPS interface 126 to the remote plasma source 128 in order to prevent material from the process gas from accumulating in the RPS interface 126. The semiconductor processing system 100 may further include a chamber cleaning plasma source 199 (separate from the foreline cleaning plasma source 192) and a chamber plasma valve 198 that is fluidly interposed between the chamber cleaning plasma source 199 and the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106. The controller 186 is configured to control the chamber cleaning plasma source 199 and the chamber plasma valve 198 to flow plasma from the chamber cleaning plasma source 199 into the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106 during the chamber cleaning process. The controller 186 is further configured to control the chamber plasma valve 198 to stop the flow of plasma into the interior 108 of the processing chamber 106, thereby preventing the chamber surface from being unnecessarily exposed to additional plasma (for example, when the chamber surface is cleaned and the foreline plasma valve 188 continues to flow plasma into the foreline 102 and then to the downstream exhaust interface).

[0092] The semiconductor processing system 100 further includes a gate valve 190 fluidly interposed between the RPS interface 126 and the pendulum valve 162, the gate valve 190 being configured to move between an open position that allows flow through the foreline 102 and a closed position that completely blocks all flow through the foreline 102. In this implementation, the orifice 174 in the gate 166 of the pendulum valve 162 allows some flow even when the gate 166 is in the first position, so the gate valve (rather than the pendulum valve 162) can be used to completely block all flow through the foreline 102. However, in other implementations, the gate valve 190 may be downstream of the pendulum valve 162 or upstream of the RPS interface 126. In yet another implementation, the foreline 102 may not include the gate valve 190.

[0093] In some embodiments, the systems provided herein may have forelines with more branches than those shown in Figures 1A-1C. For example, if the processing chamber has more than two processing stations and / or more than two exhaust ports, additional branches may be used. Figure 7A shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary semiconductor processing system in one configuration, and Figure 7B shows the exemplary semiconductor processing system of Figure 7A in a second configuration. The system 300 shown in Figures 7A and 7B is somewhat similar to the semiconductor processing system 100 of Figures 1A-1C. To avoid excessive repetition, elements in the implementations of Figures 7A and 7B that are similar to the elements shown in Figures 1A-1C are numbered with the same last two digits as their similar elements in Figures 1A-1C. Thus, it will be understood that the descriptions provided above with respect to the elements in the implementations of Figures 1A-1C are equally applicable to similar elements in Figures 7A and 7B unless otherwise specified. For the sake of brevity, descriptions of similar elements that overlap with previous descriptions of similar elements in this specification are not provided, under the understanding that the previous descriptions of such elements are applicable to these similar elements in Figures 7A and 7B. For example, valve 362 corresponds to valve 162, and gas injectors 315a and 315b correspond to gas injector 115.

[0094] The semiconductor processing system 300 in Figures 7A and 7B is a multi-station processing chamber having four processing stations within the chamber's internal volume 308. As described herein, a multi-station chamber is not limited to four stations and may include fewer or more stations, such as 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 stations within a single chamber. In Figure 7A, the processing chamber 306 has four processing stations within the chamber's internal volume 308, and for clarity, these stations are not labeled. The four showerheads 314a-314d of each of the four stations are identified along with the four exhaust ports 398. The foreline 302 is fluid-connected to different exhaust ports 398 and branches into more segments 396 that define the flow paths leading thereto. Segment 396 includes a plurality of linear sections 397a, each defining a linear portion of a corresponding flow path through the foreline 302, and a plurality of nonlinear sections 397b (e.g., arc-shaped elbow sections), each defining a nonlinear portion of a corresponding flow path through the foreline 302. The RPS interface 326 is fluidically interposed between at least one of the nonlinear portions of the corresponding flow path and the exhaust interface 320. More specifically, in this implementation, the RPS interface 326 is fluidly interposed between all nonlinear portions of the flow path and the exhaust interface 320. The RPS interface is located along the foreline outlet conduit 305. Also, as can be seen from the figure, the system 300 includes two gas injectors 315a and 315b located within the foreline 302, such as within the foreline network 303 and upstream of the foreline outlet conduit 305.

[0095] In Figure 7A, one or more processing operations are performed at four stations within the internal volume 308. These operations may include, for example, depositing material onto a substrate via CVD, PECVD, ALD, or etching material from the substrate via ALE. During these deposition and / or etching operations, ballast gas can be flowed into the foreline 302 through gas injectors 315a and 315b to prevent undesirable deposition in the foreline and to control the pressure within the internal volume 308. As further shown in Figure 7A, during these operations, valve 362 is positioned in the closed position, thereby acting as a flow limiter or orifice plate, providing a certain restriction on the flow from the chamber's internal volume 308. The gas flowing through the foreline 302 flows through the orifice of valve 362. By positioning valve 362 in the closed position during processing, undesirable deposits on the sides of valve 362 are advantageously reduced and prevented, and valve 362 cannot move to provide active pressure control of the foreline 302 and the chamber internal volume 308. Valve 362 in the closed position also generates back pressure upstream of the valve, which also provides a gradual pressure drop into the foreline 302, thereby reducing undesirable condensation and deposits of material in the foreline 302. Injecting ballast gas through gas injectors 315a and 315b during processing while valve 362 is in the closed position is advantageous in providing active pressure control of the foreline 302 and the chamber internal volume 308, as well as preventing and reducing undesirable deposits in the foreline 302.

[0096] In Figure 7B, one or more other operations are being performed within the chamber 306. These may include cleaning, pre-treatment, or post-treatment operations. Cleaning operations may include flowing plasma through the station, the chamber internal volume 308, and the foreline 302 through the RPS interface 326. During these other operations, the valve 362 may be operated to actively control the flow and pressure in the foreline 302 and the chamber internal volume 308 by moving its gate to one or more open positions. During this cleaning, the plasma removes any material deposited near the orifice of the valve 362.

[0097] Figure 8A shows a simplified, enlarged schematic diagram of the system in Figure 7A. Here, part of the system 300 includes a chamber internal volume 308, four exhaust ports 398a-398d, and four processing stations represented by boxes 319a-319d. Figure 8A shows the system 300 during one or more processing operations, such as deposition or etching, with valve 362 in the closed position and ballast gas flowing through gas injectors 315a and 315b. The gas from the chamber internal volume 308 is represented by white arrows, and as can be seen from the figure, these gases enter the foreline through exhaust ports 398a-398d, which may be the same as exhaust port 109 in Figures 1A-1C. The foreline network 303 of foreline 302 has multiple branches defining various flow paths, such as a first segment 396a spanning between exhaust port 398a and joint 311a, and a second segment 396b spanning between exhaust port 398b and joint 311a. Downstream of joint 311a is another segment 396c spanning between joint 311a and another joint 311b, and downstream of this joint 311b is a common foreline outlet conduit 305. The gas injector 315a is located in the conduit identified as a linear section 397c in this third segment, downstream of joint 311a and before the common foreline outlet conduit 305. By positioning the gas injector 315a in this location, it is possible to advantageously provide uniform pressure along the upstream segments 396c, 396a, and 396b, as well as along the exhaust ports 398a and 398b. This configuration allows a single injector to provide uniform back pressure and flow to the foreline network and half of the processing chamber 306 and internal volume 308. The other parts of the foreline network 303 are configured similarly but are not labeled for clarity.

[0098] As described above, the valve 362 in the closed position can generate back pressure upstream of the valve 362, which can also provide a gradual pressure drop within the foreline 102 compared to the chamber pressure. This back pressure can create a high-pressure environment within the foreline 102 that is close to but less than the chamber pressure, and can also reduce undesirable condensation and deposition of material within the foreline 102.

[0099] Figure 8B shows a simplified, enlarged schematic diagram of the system in Figure 7B. Here, part of the system 300 includes four processing stations represented by the chamber internal volume 308, four exhaust ports 398a-398d, and boxes 319a-319d. Figure 8B shows the system 300 in the open position with valve 362 and no ballast gas flowing through gas injectors 315a and 315b, during one or more other operations such as a cleaning operation. It can be seen that the cleaning plasma (indicated by dashed arrows) flows through the chamber interior to the foreline 302 and through the RPS interface 326 to the foreline outlet conduit 305.

[0100] In some embodiments, the system may include features configured to detect pressure inside the chamber and / or the foreline and to control the flow of ballast gas to the foreline in order to control (including regulating and maintaining) the pressure inside the chamber. This may include one or more pressure sensors located inside the chamber, in the foreline, or both, upstream of the gas injector, and connected to a controller. The controller may be configured to receive signals from one or more pressure sensors and to flow gas through the gas injector to the foreline to affect the pressure inside the foreline and upstream of the foreline into the chamber. For example, the system 300 in Figure 8A has one pressure sensor 321 located inside the internal volume 308 of the chamber 306, which is communicably connected to a controller 386. The pressure sensor 321 detects the pressure in the internal volume 308 of the chamber and transmits those signals to the controller 386, which receives them. The controller 386 is configured to control the ballast gas flow from the ballast gas source 317 to the gas injectors 315a and 315b based on the received pressure signal, thereby controlling the pressure upstream of the foreline 302 and the chamber internal volume 308. In some embodiments, the controller 386 may use proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control to control the ballast gas flow based at least partially on the pressure detected from the pressure sensor 321. In some cases, the controller may determine the ballast gas flow rate through the gas injectors to achieve a desired pressure result at or near the pressure sensor. In some embodiments, this type of control may be considered upstream pressure control. In some implementations, the controller may be an upstream pressure controller.

[0101] In some implementations, the system 300 may have a flow controller 333 that is fluidly connected to the gas injectors 315a and 315b and connected to a pressure sensor 321. The flow controller 333 is configured to control the flow of ballast gas to the gas injectors 315a and 315b based at least partially on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 321. The flow controller 333 may include some of the functions of the controller 386 described above. For example, the flow controller 333 may use PID control to control the ballast gas flow rate based at least partially on the pressure detected from the pressure sensor 321. In some cases, the flow controller 333 may determine the ballast gas flow rate through the gas injectors to achieve a desired pressure result at or near the pressure sensor. In some embodiments, this type of control may be considered upstream pressure control. In some implementations, the flow controller 333 may be an upstream pressure controller.

[0102] In some embodiments, the valve orifice size can be configured to generate a pressure in the foreline that is lower than but close to the pressure inside the chamber during one or more processing operations. This closeness may be, for example, 5%, 10%, or 20% of the desired chamber pressure during operation. Thus, during processing operations, when there is no ballast gas flow and the valve is in the closed position, the orifice can cause the foreline to have a first pressure lower than the pressure inside the chamber. Thereafter, additional ballast gas into the foreline can increase the pressure in the foreline, and therefore increase that pressure to be higher than the first pressure and close to or equal to the pressure inside the chamber. In one example, the inside of the chamber may have a desired pressure of about 10 Torr during deposition inside the chamber, and the gas flow rate through the foreline to achieve this same pressure can be 30 SLM. The orifice can be sized to allow a flow rate that is less than but close to this flow rate, such as 25 SLM. By enabling a flow rate of approximately 25 SLM through the orifice, the pressure in the foreline is lower than, but close to, the chamber pressure of 10 Torr. To produce the desired flow rate through the foreline and thereby the desired pressure in the foreline, ballast gas can be flowed into the foreline at a rate of approximately 5 SLM to achieve a total of 30 SLM and the desired pressure in the foreline. If there are pressure fluctuations in the chamber during processing, the pressure sensor can detect these changes and adjust the ballast gas flow to the foreline so that the desired pressure inside the chamber can be maintained. For example, if the chamber pressure drops, the ballast gas flow rate can be increased to increase the foreline pressure and chamber pressure.

[0103] As described herein, several embodiments of the gas injector are configured to reduce or prevent material deposition in the foreline. The gas injector may be located in the inner bore of the foreline conduit, for example, in the linear section shown in Figures 1A–1C and 7A–8B. In some implementations, the gas injector as an outlet may be centrally located or substantially centrally located within the conduit. This centralized placement can reduce undesirable turbulence in the gas flow around the gas injector and provide more uniform conditions around the gas injector. Turbulence around and downstream of the gas injector can be undesirable because these turbulences can increase the shear force and turbulence of the gas flow, causing components and gases to combine and form undesirable materials and by-products that can deposit on the foreline and valves therein (e.g., valves 162 and 362). These disturbances caused by the gas injector can be reduced in various ways, such as by configuring the injector diameter to be large enough to diffuse the ballast gas flow, or by having a muffler at the end of the injector that can also diffuse the gas flow.

[0104] Figure 16 shows a cross-sectional side view of a portion of a foreline having a gas injector. This gas injector 2415 is located inside the conduit 2497c of the foreline, and the foreline can be any of the conduits in the foreline network shown in Figures 1A-1C and Figures 7A-8B. The gas injector 2415 has an outlet 2423 located inside 2418 of the conduit 2497c. The ballast gas flowing through the gas injector 2415 into the conduit 2497c is represented by a dashed arrow. In some cases, the center of the outlet 2423 is in the central region of the conduit 2497c, and in some such examples, the center of the outlet 2423 is collinear with the central axis 2425 of the conduit 2497c, as shown in the figure, or substantially collinear (e.g., within 1%, 5%, or 10% of the collinearity). The outlet 2423 may also have a circular cross-section in some implementations, which can advantageously provide a uniform flow of ballast gas into the conduit 2497c.

[0105] If the diameter of the gas injector and its outlet outer diameter OD are too small relative to the bore diameter BD of the conduit 2497c, undesirable turbulence may occur within the conduit 2497c. In some implementations, undesirable gas turbulence can be advantageously reduced by setting the outer diameter of the gas injector outlet 2423 to 1 / 2 to 1 / 6, 1 / 2 to 1 / 5, 1 / 3 to 1 / 5, and / or 1 / 3 to 1 / 6 of the bore diameter BD of the conduit 2497c. Furthermore, the gas injector 2415 can function as a gas expander, allowing gas to expand from a supply line having a smaller diameter. In Figure 16, the supply line 2427 from a ballast gas source (not shown) has a second outer diameter OD2 that is smaller than the outer diameter OD of the gas injector 2415. This size difference allows the ballast gas to expand and diffuse so that it can enter the interior 2418 of the conduit 2497c with less turbulence.

[0106] Figure 17 shows a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the foreline having another gas injector. Similar to the gas injector in Figure 16, this gas injector 2515 is located inside a conduit 2597c of the foreline, which may be any of the conduits in the foreline network of Figures 1A–1C and Figures 7A–8B. The gas injector 2515 has an outlet with a muffler 2529 located inside 2518 of the conduit 2597c. The ballast gas flowing through the gas injector 2515 into the conduit 2597c is represented by a dashed arrow. In some cases, the center of the muffler 2529 is in the central region of the conduit 2597, and in some such cases, the center of the muffler 2529 is collinear or substantially collinear (e.g., within 1%, 5%, or 10% of the collinearity) with the central axis of the conduit 2597c. As shown in the figure, the muffler 2529 can distribute the ballast gas radially outward in various directions, thereby reducing and preventing undesirable turbulence and deposition within it. The muffler 2529 may also be of a type that restricts the flow of ballast gas and spreads it within the conduit. This may include a structure having a porous housing, such as a muffler made of sintered metal. In some implementations, the muffler may be considered a pneumatic exhaust muffler.

[0107] As described above, the flow of ballast gas to the foreline via a gas injector can control the pressure inside the chamber. In some embodiments, the pressure inside the chamber can be maintained within a specific pressure range by flowing this ballast gas while a valve with an orifice is in the closed position during one or more processing operations, such as depositing material on a substrate in a multi-station chamber. This range may be about 7 Torr to about 11 Torr, about 14 Torr to about 18 Torr, or about 16 Torr to about 20 Torr.

[0108] Next, additional or alternative features of the system will be described. In some implementations, a foreline antifouling assembly may be mounted on the foreline to help capture potential undesirable by-products that may pass through the pendulum valve 162, for example. Referring to Figures 9 to 15, implementations of a foreline antifouling assembly 400 ("assembly") for the foreline 102 of the semiconductor processing system 100 of Figure 1C are provided. Figure 9 shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary foreline antifouling assembly for the foreline of Figure 1C along the longitudinal axis of the catcher. The assembly 400 is configured to initiate the deposition of material from one or more process gases flowing through the foreline 102 during one or more semiconductor processing operations, and further configured to hold the deposited material during one or more semiconductor processing operations and / or foreline cleaning operations, and to prevent the deposited material from moving through the foreline 102 downstream of the assembly 400. As explained in detail above in relation to the descriptions of Figures 4 to 6, the orifice 174 in the gate 166 of the valve 162 allows most of the process gas to flow through the inner core space of the foreline interior 118, which is radially separated inward from the foreline wall 116, thereby minimizing flow interruptions by maintaining the flow direction and flow rate within the inner core space.

[0109] The flow of process gas through the orifice 174 significantly reduces the amount of gas flowing along the meandering path around the outer edge region 168 of the gate 166, and therefore reduces contamination of the outer edge region 168 or its vicinity. The reduction in contamination of the outer edge region 168 or its vicinity can prevent gate 166 from seizing, reduce the frequency of preventative maintenance of the foreline 102, and save uptime and corresponding throughput of the semiconductor processing system 100. However, because the orifice 174 maintains the direction and flow rate of the flow within the inner core space of the foreline interior 118, which is radially separated inward from the foreline wall 116, the process gas can directly collide with a region of the foreline wall 116 further downstream from the gate 166. This region may be difficult to access and / or clean, and in such a region, material may contaminate and / or damage other components (e.g., the pump of the exhaust system 122), and therefore degrade the performance of those components and / or the entire semiconductor processing system 100. As will be described in detail below, the semiconductor processing system 100 may include an assembly 400 having a catcher 402 (e.g., a trap, strainer, etc.) configured to deposit material from one or more process gases onto one or more accumulation surfaces 404 and hold the material (e.g., material peeled off from the surface of the catcher 402) so that the material does not move through the foreline 102 during one or more semiconductor processing operations and / or foreline cleaning operations. During a foreline cleaning operation (e.g., after a predetermined number of semiconductor batches, such as 30 batches, have been manufactured), a plasma source (e.g., RPS128 in Figure 1) can flow plasma through the foreline 102, causing the material deposited and stored in the catcher 402 to volatilize through the assembly 400. The catcher 402 is further configured to provide conductance through the foreline 102 within a predetermined penalty (e.g., within about 20% of the original conductance of the foreline 102 before the catcher 402 was not present and material from the process gases was deposited on the catcher 402).As material gradually accumulates on the catcher 402 during one or more semiconductor processing operations, the conductance through the catcher 402 may decrease by a corresponding amount. The catcher 402 is configured to be cleaned within a maximum cleaning time, such as 20-30 minutes, to remove an amount of material related to the amount of process gas used to manufacture a predetermined number of semiconductor batches, such as 30 batches. A foreline cleaning operation, which can clean the catcher during this time, can be performed before or after a chamber cleaning operation, consecutively, during a planned maintenance downtime. However, in other implementations, the foreline cleaning operation and the chamber cleaning operation can be performed simultaneously (e.g., if the semiconductor processing system 100 has sufficient plasma resources and corresponding hardware to simultaneously supply the required amount of plasma to the processing chamber 106 and assembly 400). In yet another implementation (e.g., if the planned downtime is reduced and the output is increased compared to the above implementations), the foreline cleaning operation may be performed simultaneously during one or more semiconductor processing operations. In other implementations, the catcher 402 can deflect one or more process gas flows onto a foreline wall (e.g., a foreline segment 408, described below), and the foreline wall can be cleaned during a foreline cleaning operation.

[0110] In this implementation, assembly 400 includes a foreline segment 408 (e.g., a flanged tube or spool piece separate from the foreline 102) configured to integrate a catcher 402 within the foreline 102 and receive one or more process gas flows from the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106. The foreline segment 408 has an inlet end 410 configured to fluidly connect to a first portion of the foreline 102 which is fluidly connected to the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106. The foreline segment 408 further includes an outlet end 412 configured to fluidly connect to a second portion of the foreline 102 which is fluidly connected to an exhaust system 122. The foreline segment 408 has a segment wall 414 defining a fluid-interposed flow path 416 between the inlet end 410 and the outlet end 412. The flow path 416 extends along a longitudinal axis 418 and has a segment cross-sectional area A coaxial with the longitudinal axis 418. The assembly 400 further includes one or more support structures 420 configured to attach the catcher 402 to the foreline segment 408 (for example, before the inlet end 410 and outlet end 412 of the foreline segment 408 are fluidly connected to the first and second portions of the foreline 102, respectively). Alternatively, the foreline segment 408 may be an integral part of the foreline 102, and the catcher 402 may be inserted into the foreline 102 via a removable access panel of the foreline 102 and directly coupled to the foreline wall 116.

[0111] In this implementation, assembly 400 further includes a valve 162 (e.g., the pendulum valve 162 in Figure 9). To avoid excessive repetition, elements of the pendulum valve 162 in the implementations of Figures 4 to 6 that are similar to the elements shown in Figures 4 to 6 are referred to by numbers that share the same last two digits as the similar elements in Figures 4 to 6. Thus, it will be understood that the descriptions provided above with respect to the elements of the implementations of Figures 4 to 6 are equally applicable to the similar elements in Figure 9 unless otherwise indicated. For brevity, under the understanding that the above descriptions of such elements are applicable to these similar elements in Figure 9, no descriptions of these elements that overlap with the above descriptions of similar elements in this specification are provided. In this implementation, the valve 162 includes a gate 166 having an orifice 174 configured to allow the majority of the process gas to flow through an inner core space of the foreline interior 118, which is radially spaced inward from the foreline wall 116, and to minimize flow interruptions by maintaining the flow direction and flow rate within the inner core space. The orifice 174 within the gate 166 has a circular shape with a first diameter D1. In other implementations, the orifice 174 may have a non-circular shape (e.g., polygonal, oval, etc.) with a corresponding maximum width. Additional axial features (e.g., inclines or steps) can also be designed into the device to achieve a desired flow profile and minimize turbulence that causes deposition.

[0112] The assembly 400 further includes a device 422 having a catcher 402 configured to be coupled to a foreline segment 408 and to be fluidly interposed between the orifice 174 of the valve 162 and the exhaust system 122, and to remove depositable material from the process gas. The catcher 402 includes one or more accumulation surfaces 404 configured to be collided with by one or more process gas flows through the foreline segment 408 and to deposit material from one or more process gases onto one or more accumulation surfaces 404 during one or more semiconductor processing operations, when the catcher 402 is coupled to the foreline segment 408 and the foreline segment 408 is fluidly connected to the foreline 102. One or more accumulation surfaces 404 are further configured to be struck by plasma flowing from, for example, an RPS 128 which may be located just upstream of the valve 162, or from another plasma source, in order to remove material from one or more accumulation surfaces 404 during foreline cleaning operations and when the catcher 402 is coupled to the foreline segment 408 and the foreline segment 408 is fluidly connected to the foreline 102.

[0113] In this implementation, the catcher is a conduit 424 having a first end portion 426, the first end portion 426 being an open end 428 having a rim 430 defining an inlet 432. The inlet 432 is configured to receive at least a portion of one or more process gas flows from the orifice 174 of the valve 162 during one or more semiconductor processing operations. The inlet 432 is further configured to receive a plasma flow (e.g., generated from the RPS 128 and / or chamber cleaning plasma source 199, etc.) during foreline cleaning operations.

[0114] Referring to Figure 9, the inlet 432 of the catcher 402 is offset from the orifice 174 along the longitudinal axis 418 by a maximum distance (e.g., in the range of 0.001 inches to 0.500 inches) to allow process gas to flow from the orifice 174 to the inlet 432. The inlet 432 of the catcher 402 and the orifice 174 of the gate 166 are coaxially positioned when the gate 166 is in the closed position. The inlet 432 of the catcher 402 has a second diameter D2 that is larger than the first diameter D1 of the gate 166, and the ratio of the second diameter of the inlet 432 to the first diameter of the orifice 174 exceeds the minimum ratio (e.g., at least 1.5:1) to further allow process gas to flow from the orifice 174 to the inlet 432.

[0115] The conduit 424 further includes a second end portion 434 opposite the first end portion 426. One or more accumulation surfaces 404 include a first accumulation surface 406a spaced apart from the second end portion 434 and a second accumulation surface 406b on the second end portion 434. The second end portion 434 may be configured to collect material that can be removed from the first accumulation surface 406a, for example, by peeling. In one implementation, the second end portion 434 of the conduit 424 is a closed end 435. In other implementations, the second end portion 434 may have one or more openings (e.g., an end wall / second accumulation surface 406b having one or more holes, screens, grids, etc.). The conduit 424 can be made of a steel alloy (e.g., SAE304 stainless steel), an aluminum alloy, a ceramic material, or other suitable material.

[0116] The assembly 400 may include one or more support structures 420 configured to attach the first end portion 426 of the conduit 424 to the foreline segment 408 (for example, to hold the inlet 432 of the conduit 424 in a precise position relative to the orifice 174 in the gate 166 which is positioned coaxially with the orifice 174), and the second end portion 434 of the conduit 424 may not include a support structure 420 (for example, to avoid obstruction of the flow path by such support structure 420, to avoid a corresponding decrease in conductance, and to improve ease of installation). Other implementations may have a support structure configured to attach the second end portion 434 to the foreline segment 408, and the first end portion 426 may not include a support structure 420, which may make it more difficult to hold the first end portion 426 in a coaxial position with the orifice 174. The support structure 420 may include an outer collar 436 configured to be supported by the segment wall 414 in a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 418. The support structure 420 may further include an annular flange 438 extending radially outward from the outer collar 436 and configured to support the catcher 402 in the longitudinal direction. The annular flange 438 may be held between the inlet end 410 of the foreline segment 408 and the first portion 102 of the foreline when the inlet end 410 and the first portion 102 of the foreline are connected to each other. The support structure 420 may further include an inner collar 440 configured to hold the catcher 402. The support structure 420 may further include one or more radial arms 452 that connect the outer collar 436 to the inner collar 440 and position the catcher 402 radially inward from the outer collar 436 (for example, at a position where the inlet 432 of the catcher 402 is coaxial with the orifice 174 of the gate 166). The first end portion 426 of the conduit 424 may have a first outer diameter, and the rest of the conduit (for example, at least the second end portion 434) may have a second diameter smaller than the first outer diameter of the first end portion 426 of the conduit 424. The inner collar 440 may have an inner diameter smaller than the first diameter and larger than the second diameter.The upstream side of the inner collar 440 may be configured to engage with the first end portion 426 of the conduit 424 and support the catcher 402 in the upstream direction. The inner diameter of the inner collar 440 may be configured to support the catcher in the lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 418. In other configurations, the assembly 400 may include any suitable support structure configured to attach any one or more portions of the catcher 402 to the foreline segment 408, or directly to the foreline 102 in configurations where the foreline segment 408 is omitted.

[0117] The conduit 424 includes one or more columns 442 (e.g., three columns) extending between a first end portion 426 and a second end portion 434, the one or more columns 442 configured to hold material (e.g., material deposited on one or more accumulation surfaces 404 and later separated from one or more accumulation surfaces 404) within a catcher 402. The conduit 424 further includes one or more outlets 444 configured to provide the catcher 402 with relatively high conductance (e.g., conductance much higher than that provided by a porous or mesh filter). In this implementation, the conduit 424 includes three radially outward-facing outlets 444, each defined by the first end portion 426, the second end portion 434, and the corresponding columns 442. For one or more angular positions on the conduit 424, there is a single outlet 444 extending from the first end portion 426 to the second end portion 434. The intermediate portions of column 442 (i.e., the sections spaced apart from the first end portion 426 and the second end portion 434) are not connected to one another (for example, by a cross member to prevent the cross member from blocking the flow through the catcher 402 and to avoid a corresponding decrease in conductance through such outlet 444). The second end portion 434 may include an annular flange 438 connected to column 442 and configured to hold material within the catcher 402. The conduit 424 further includes a passage 446 that is fluidly interposed between the inlet 432 and one or more outlets 444. Column 442 and the annular wall 448 are configured to prevent loose material from leaving the passage in the catcher 402 and moving down the foreline 102.

[0118] The catcher 402 has a lateral occlusion profile configured to occlude a portion of the flow path 416 within the foreline segment 408 when no material is deposited on it. The lateral occlusion profile can correspond to all locations on one or more direct impact sections 450 of the accumulation surface 404 on the catcher 402, each location being within one or more direct line-of-sight lines extending from that location through the orifice 174 of the valve 162 to a viewpoint at one or more locations upstream of the valve 162. The one or more direct impact sections 450 are configured to be directly impacted by one or more process gases, causing material from the process gases to be deposited on those direct impact sections 450. More specifically, the one or more direct impact sections 450 extend in a direction having a lateral component perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 418 of the catcher 402. For each position in the first set of positions, there are multiple direct lines of sight from that position to a corresponding viewpoint located outside the catcher 402 and along the upstream direction of the foreline 102 relative to the catcher 402 and / or valve 162. Each of these positions in the first set of positions is located on one or more direct impact sections 450. The lateral occlusion profile of the catcher is configured to occlude a range between 10% and 50% of the segment cross-sectional area of ​​the foreline segment 408 when the catcher 402 (i.e., no material from the process gas is deposited on the catcher 402) is placed within the flow path of the foreline segment 408. This range may depend on the flow profile generated by the orifice 174 and the distance from the orifice 174 that creates the viewing angle. The lateral occlusion profile is the total cross-sectional area of ​​all lateral components of one or more direct impact sections 450. In this implementation, each of the columns 442 extends between the first end portion 426 and the second end portion 434 in a direction that does not have a lateral component perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 418, and therefore, the columns 442 do not contribute to the lateral occlusion profile.In other words, the total cross-sectional area may be the flow cross-sectional area of ​​the foreline 102 without a catcher 402 within it, minus the flow cross-sectional area of ​​the foreline 102 with a catcher 402 within it.

[0119] Figure 10 shows another implementation of the catcher in Figure 9. The exemplary catcher 502 in Figure 10 is somewhat similar to the catcher 402 in Figure 9. To avoid excessive repetition, elements in the implementation in Figure 10 that are similar to the elements shown in Figure 9 are numbered with the same last two digits as those similar elements in Figure 9. Thus, it will be understood that the descriptions provided above with respect to the elements in the implementation in Figure 9 are equally applicable to the similar elements in Figure 10 unless otherwise indicated. For brevity, under the understanding that the preceding descriptions of such elements are applicable to these similar elements in Figure 10, no descriptions of these elements that overlap with the preceding descriptions of similar elements in this specification are provided.

[0120] The catcher 402 in Figure 9 includes a single outlet 444 at one or more corresponding angular positions on the conduit 424, whereas the catcher 502 may be a cage or strainer including a set of multiple outlets 544 at each corresponding angular position on the wall of the conduit 524. In contrast to the conduit 424 in Figure 9, which has multiple separate columns 442 having intermediate portions that are not connected to each other (i.e., sections spaced apart from the first end portion 426 and the second end portion 434), the conduit 524 includes a side wall 542 (also shown as 524 in Figure 10) extending between the first end portion 526 and the second end portion 534. At one or more angular positions on the wall of the conduit 524, the side wall 542 includes a corresponding set of multiple outlets 544. The side wall 542 defines a passage 546 along the longitudinal axis, which is fluidly interposed between the inlet 532 and one or more outlets 544. In some embodiments, the catcher 502 may be oriented similarly to the catcher in Figure 9, with the open end of the first end portion 526 adjacent to the gate 166. In other embodiments, the second end portion 534 of the catcher 534 may be open and positioned close to the gate 166, while the first end portion 526 may be closed and positioned further from the gate than the second end portion 534.

[0121] Figures 11 and 12 show another illustrative foreline segment 708 and catcher 702, similar to the foreline segment 408 and catcher 402 of Figure 9. Figure 11 shows yet another implementation of the catcher of Figure 9. Figure 12 shows a bottom perspective view of the panel of Figure 11. To avoid excessive repetition, elements in the implementations of Figures 11 and 12 that are similar to the elements shown in Figure 9 are numbered with numbers that share the same last two digits as those similar elements in Figure 9. Thus, it will be understood that the descriptions provided above with respect to the elements of the implementation of Figure 9 are equally applicable to the similar elements of Figures 11 and 12 unless otherwise indicated. For brevity, descriptions of these elements that overlap with the earlier descriptions of similar elements in this specification are not provided, under the understanding that the earlier descriptions of such elements are applicable to these similar elements in Figures 11 and 12.

[0122] The catcher 402 in Figure 9 is a conduit 424 having an inlet 432 and one or more outlets 444, while the catcher 702 in Figures 11 and 12 includes multiple panels 754 having an accumulation surface 704 with direct impact sections 750. Multiple direct line-of-sight lines exist from a first position in a set of positions on each direct impact section 750 to an external viewpoint located at an upstream position in the foreline 102 (Figure 1). The accumulation surface 704 may include one or more convex portions 756 and / or one or more concave portions 758. In other implementations, the accumulation surface may have one or more planar portions. As shown in Figure 13, the support structure 720 may be an outer collar 736 connected between each panel 754 and the foreline segment 408 (Figure 9).

[0123] Figures 13 and 14 show another illustrative foreline segment 808 and catcher 802 similar to the foreline segment 408 and catcher 402 of Figure 9. Figure 13 shows a side view of another implementation of the foreline antifouling assembly of Figure 9, and Figure 14 shows a perspective end view of the catcher of Figure 13. To avoid excessive repetition, elements in the implementations of Figures 13 and 14 that are similar to the elements shown in Figure 9 are numbered with numbers that share the same last two digits as those similar elements in Figure 9. Thus, it will be understood that the descriptions provided above with respect to the elements of the implementation of Figure 9 are equally applicable to the similar elements in Figures 13 and 14 unless otherwise indicated. For brevity, descriptions of these elements that overlap with the earlier descriptions of similar elements in this specification are not provided, under the understanding that the earlier descriptions of such elements are applicable to these similar elements in Figures 13 and 14.

[0124] The catcher 402 in Figure 9 is a conduit 424 having an inlet 432 and one or more outlets 444, while the catcher 802 in Figures 13 and 14 is a post 860 having a shaft terminated at a tip 864 (e.g., a tapered tip such as a conical tip), and one or both of the shaft and the tip 864 have one or more accumulation surfaces 804 on which material from the process gas flow is deposited. In contrast to the support structure 420 of Figure 9, which has an outer collar 436 (e.g., an annular band), an inner collar 440, and one or more radial arms 452, the support structure 820 of Figures 13 and 14 has an outer collar 836 (e.g., a tube), a support platform 840 configured to support a post 860, and one or more radial arms 852 that connect the outer collar 836 to the support platform 840 and position the post 860 radially inward from the outer collar 436 (for example, in a position where the shaft of the post 860 is coaxial with the orifice 174 of the gate 166 in Figure 9).

[0125] Figure 15 shows another exemplary RPS interface 926, somewhat similar to the RPS interface 126 in Figures 2 and 3. Figure 15 shows a cutaway section view of region 1 of the semiconductor processing system in Figure 1C. To avoid excessive repetition, elements in the implementation configuration of Figure 15 that are similar to the elements shown in Figures 2 and 3 are numbered with the same last two digits as their similar elements in Figures 2 and 3. Thus, it will be understood that the descriptions provided above with respect to the elements in the implementation configurations of Figures 2 and 3 are equally applicable to the similar elements in Figure 15 unless otherwise indicated. For brevity, under the understanding that the above descriptions of such elements are applicable to these similar elements in Figure 15, no descriptions of these elements that overlap with the above descriptions of similar elements in this specification are provided.

[0126] The RPS interface 126 in Figure 2 includes a nozzle 130 with one or more coolant passages 146 located in the nozzle wall 144, while the RPS interface 926 in Figure 15 includes one or more coolant passages 946 located outside the nozzle 930 and / or foreline 102. The RPS interface 926 includes one or more heat sinks 945 located outside the nozzle wall 944 and attached to a second surface of the nozzle wall 944 facing radially outward with respect to the central axis of the plasma passage 932.

[0127] As shown in Figure 15, one or more coolant passages 946a, 946b are located within the heatsink 945 and define one or more coolant flow paths connecting from an inlet port in the corresponding heatsink 945 to an outlet port in the corresponding heatsink 945. In this configuration, one or more heatsinks 945 are mounted on a first end portion 936 of the nozzle wall 944 (for example, adjacent to a remote plasma source 128, etc.). In other configurations, one or more heatsinks 945 may be mounted on other portions of the nozzle wall 944 (for example, a second end portion 938 adjacent to the foreline 102).

[0128] In this configuration, one or more heat sinks 945 may include a first heat sink 949 (e.g., a first block) and a second heat sink 951 (e.g., a second block), each made of a material (e.g., aluminum, copper, nickel, etc.) having a thermal conductivity within a predetermined range (e.g., 100 to 500 W / m*K). Each of the first heat sink 949 and the second heat sink 951 may have one or more interfaces (e.g., concave surfaces 953, 955) configured to contact and receive heat from one of the corresponding two portions (e.g., convex surfaces 957, 959) of the nozzle wall 944. The first heat sink 949 and the second heat sink 951 can be clamped to the nozzle 930 by one or more fasteners (e.g., screw fasteners, etc.). The first heatsink 949 may have a plurality of first coolant passages 946a (e.g., seven coolant passages 946a) arranged parallel to each other and fluidly interposed between a first inlet port and a first outlet port. The first inlet port of the first heatsink 949 may be fluidly connected to a coolant supply line (not shown). The second heatsink 951 may have a plurality of second coolant passages 946b (e.g., seven coolant passages 946b) arranged parallel to each other and fluidly interposed between a second inlet port and a second outlet port. The second outlet port of the second heatsink 951 may be fluidly connected to a coolant return line (not shown). A connector line may be fluidly interposed between the first outlet port 942a of the first heatsink 949 and the second inlet port of the second heatsink 951. In other implementations, the first heatsink 949 and / or the second heatsink 951 may have more or fewer than seven coolant passages (e.g., a single meandering coolant passage in one or more of the corresponding heatsinks), and the RPS interface 926 may include more or fewer heatsinks than the two heatsinks 949, 951.

[0129] In some implementations, the controller 186 is part of the semiconductor processing system 100, which may be part of or include the example described above. As described above, the controller 186 may be configured to control the valve 182 of the gas distribution system 180 to allow one or more process gases to flow into the processing chamber 106 and to adjust the chamber pressure associated with all process gases flowing through the orifice 174 when the gate 166 is in the first position. The controller 186 may be further configured to control the valve 182 of the gas distribution system 180 to prevent one or more process gases from flowing into the processing chamber 106 during foreline cleaning operations. In an implementation where the semiconductor processing system 100 further includes a remote plasma source 128 and a foreline plasma valve 188 that fluidly interposes between the remote plasma source 128 and the RPS interface 126 of the foreline 102, the controller 186 can be further configured to control the remote plasma source 128 and the foreline plasma valve 188 to flow plasma from the remote plasma source 128 into the foreline 102 and / or through the catcher 402 during foreline cleaning operation.

[0130] The controller 186 can be further configured to control the foreline plasma valve 188 to prevent one or more process gases from flowing through the RPS interface 126 to the remote plasma source 128 in order to prevent material from process gases from accumulating on the RPS interface 126. The semiconductor processing system 100 may further include a chamber cleaning plasma source 199 (separate from the foreline cleaning plasma source 192) and a chamber plasma valve 198 that fluidly interposes between the chamber cleaning plasma source 199 and the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106. The controller 186 can be further configured to control the chamber cleaning plasma source 199 and the chamber plasma valve 198 to allow plasma from the chamber cleaning plasma source 199 to flow into the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106 during the chamber cleaning process.

[0131] The controller 186 may be further configured to control the chamber plasma valve 198 to stop the flow of plasma into the internal volume 108 of the processing chamber 106, thereby preventing the chamber surface from being unnecessarily exposed to additional plasma (for example, when the chamber surface is cleaned and the foreline plasma valve 188 continues to flow plasma into the foreline 102 and then to the downstream exhaust interface). Such systems having these exemplary controllers may include semiconductor processing equipment comprising one or more processing tools, one or more chambers, one or more platforms for processing, and / or specific processing components (such as wafer pedestals and gas flow systems). These systems may be integrated with electronic equipment for controlling pre-processing, in-processing, and post-processing operations of semiconductor wafers or substrates. The electronic equipment may be referred to as a “controller” that can control various components or sub-parts of a system or multiple systems. Depending on the processing requirements and / or the type of system, the controller may be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed herein that could cause contamination of the foreline 102 and / or valve 162, including the delivery of process gases, temperature settings (e.g., heating and / or cooling), pressure settings, vacuum settings, power settings, radio frequency (RF) generator settings, RF matching circuit settings, frequency settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings, position and operation settings, and the transfer of wafers into and out of tools and other transfer tools and / or load locks connected to or interfaced with a particular system.

[0132] Various techniques may be used with the systems provided herein. Figure 18 shows one exemplary technique according to various embodiments. In block 2651, one or more processing operations, such as material deposition, are performed on at least one substrate in the processing chamber. This may include performing one or more processing operations on the substrate in a multi-station chamber, such as chambers 106 and 306 provided herein. In block 2653, during the processing operations of block 2651, valves in the foreline, such as throttle valves or pendulum valves 162 and 362 provided herein, may be in the closed position, for example, as shown in Figures 4, 7A, and 8A. During the processing operations of block 2651, gas flows through the foreline and throttle valves 162 and 362, and such gas can only flow around orifices and other features of the gate. Furthermore, during the processing operation of block 2651, in some implementations, ballast gas is flowed into the foreline through ballast gas injectors such as gas injectors 115, 315a, and 315b, as shown in block 2655.

[0133] In some embodiments, the pressure in a portion of the foreline network, such as the region upstream of the injector, can be maintained within a desired pressure range while the ballast gas is flowing. For example, referring to Figure 8A, flowing ballast gas through gas injector 315a can bring up the pressure upstream of gas injector 315a, such as segments 396c, 396b, and 396a, and maintain the internal volume of the chamber 308 at a pressure within a pressure range. In some cases, this pressure range may be within a specific threshold of the desired pressure in the internal volume of the chamber 308 during processing. For example, the pressure range may be within at least 0.1%, 0.5%, 1%, 5%, 10%, or 25% of the desired pressure in the chamber. Also, as provided herein, some techniques may detect the pressure upstream of the gas injector, and the flow of ballast gas may be at least partially based on this detected pressure. This may include detecting the pressure with the pressure sensor 321 in Figure 8A, and using upstream flow control and / or PID control to flow ballast gas into the foreline 302 and / or maintain a desired pressure in the foreline 302 and / or the chamber internal volume 308. This maintenance of chamber pressure and pressure detection is represented by an optional block 2657 in Figure 18.

[0134] In some embodiments, a remote plasma can be flowed into the foreline through the RPS interface provided herein to clean an aspect of the foreline. This is represented by an optional block 2659 in Figure 18. During this flow of remote plasma, no ballast gas is flowed into the foreline and the throttle valve is not in the closed position. The throttle valve operates to control the flow rate and / or pressure inside the foreline and chamber. This block 2659 may be considered to perform one or more other operations in the chamber, which may be a cleaning operation. Furthermore, in some implementations, this flow of remote plasma may occur during a cleaning operation of a processing chamber in which a cleaning plasma is flowed into the chamber.

[0135] The controller may be configured to perform various techniques, including producing various functions in the systems provided herein. In some implementations, this may include, as described herein, causing one or more processors to deliver ballast gas through gas injectors to a foreline network during one or more processing operations. This may also include receiving signals from pressure sensors inside the chamber and delivering gas based at least partially on the pressure detected by the pressure sensors. This flow can maintain a portion of the foreline, such as the foreline network, within a pressure range. The command may further include closing a throttle valve while gas is flowing through the gas injectors and while one or more processing operations are being performed inside the chamber. During other operations, such as pre- and post-processing steps, including cleaning, the command may cause the throttle valve to control the pressure within the internal volume during such other operations. The controller may also generate remote plasma and deliver it to the RPS interface and foreline.

[0136] Several other embodiments utilizing bypass conduits are provided herein. In some other embodiments, to mitigate the rapid expansion of the outflow in the foreline, the foreline may include a smaller diameter (e.g., lower conductance) bypass conduit branching off from a larger diameter (e.g., higher conductance) foreline outlet conduit. The bypass conduit may extend from the branching point and rejoin the foreline outlet conduit at a re-entry point on the foreline outlet conduit downstream from the branching point. The bypass conduit may have a first diameter smaller than the second diameter of the foreline outlet conduit. For example, the first diameter is less than or equal to half the second diameter. The bypass conduit may have a first length that is at least the same as the second length of the foreline.

[0137] In some implementations, bypass conduits reduce or eliminate foreline clogging by guiding the effluent through a higher-pressure channel rather than a lower-pressure channel provided by a larger-diameter foreline outlet conduit. In some implementations, during a normal deposition process, the first valve of the foreline can be closed and the second valve of the bypass conduit can be opened to guide the effluent into the bypass conduit. Since many deposition processes are performed at relatively high pressures within the deposition chamber, the gradual pressure drop of the effluent gas passing through the bypass conduit can prevent sudden expansion of the effluent gas. In at least one implementation, by mitigating sudden gas expansion, deposition of solid or semi-solid material on the conduit surface by the effluent gas is also reduced or prevented. In at least one implementation, the first diameter and length of the bypass conduit can be adjusted to regulate the pressure drop of the effluent gas to conform to the design criteria of a particular vacuum pumping system.

[0138] Figure 19 shows cross-sectional views of the process tool 2700 in several implementation configurations. The process tool 2700 comprises a vacuum chamber 2702, also referred to as a process chamber provided above, such as chambers 106 and 306, which are operable to maintain a high vacuum (e.g., 20 Torr or less). The vacuum processing chamber may comprise showerheads 2704 and 2706 positioned on pedestals 2708 and 2710, respectively. In some implementation configurations, the vacuum chamber 2702 comprises a plurality of process stations arranged within the vacuum chamber 2702. Showerheads 2704 and pedestal 2708 may be assigned to a first process station, and showerheads 2706 and pedestal 2710 may be assigned to a second process station. In some cases, as described above, the vacuum chamber 2702 comprises four process stations, each station comprising a showerhead (e.g., similar to or identical to showerhead 2704) and a pedestal (e.g., similar to or identical to pedestal 2708). In some embodiments, the vacuum chamber 2702 may be a plasma deposition chamber operable to generate and maintain plasma (e.g., plasma maintained between pairs of showerheads and pedestals) in one or more process stations. The plasma may be ignited by a large radio frequency (RF) voltage applied to showerheads 2704 and 2706.

[0139] Process gas may be introduced into the vacuum chamber 2702 through showerheads 2704 and 2706. Outlet ports 2712 and 2714 are the same as the exhaust ports described herein and are located on the bottom wall 2716 (or side wall) of the vacuum chamber 2702. Outlet ports 2712 and 2714 provide an exhaust path for removing process gas effluent from the vacuum chamber 2702. Outlet ports 2712 and 2714 are coupled to a foreline having a foreline network 2718, where the foreline network 2718 comprises conduits 2719 coupled to the outlet ports 2712 and 2714. In some implementations, the foreline network 2718 comprises multiple conduits (see Figure 21).

[0140] The foreline further comprises a foreline outlet conduit 2722 coupled to the foreline network 2718. The foreline outlet conduit 2722 has an expansion section 2724, and a metering valve 2726 is shown between the foreline network 2718 and the foreline outlet conduit 2722. The metering valve 2726 is operable to be adjustable between fully open and minimum opening. The metering valve 2726 can provide a leak path for process gas effluent to escape into the expansion section 2724. The metering valve 2726 can be adjusted to restrict the flow of effluent in order to maintain a minimum working pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702. In at least one implementation, the metering valve 2726 is a throttle valve, pendulum valve, butterfly valve, or gate valve.

[0141] In some embodiments, the vacuum chamber 2702 can be maintained at a pressure significantly lower than the working pressure used during the deposition process. To maintain the low pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702, the flow rate of the cleaning gas effluent (e.g., nitrogen, argon) can be significantly higher than the flow rate of the effluent during the deposition process. The higher flow rate of the cleaning gas allows for rapid chamber flushing and helps maintain the lower pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702. The metering valve 2726 can be adjusted to be fully open during the chamber cleaning operation to support the high effluent flow rate.

[0142] As shown in Figure 19, the bypass conduit 2728 is connected to the foreline outlet conduit 2722 at two locations. The bypass conduit 2728 branches off from the foreline outlet conduit 2722 at branch point 2730. In at least one implementation, branch point 2730 is located on and near or within the expansion section 2724 and the metering valve 2726. The bypass conduit 2728 reconnects to the foreline outlet conduit 2722 at a re-entry point 2732 downstream of branch point 2730.

[0143] The bypass conduit 2728 provides a region-controlled expansion of the effluent gas flowing from the metering valve 2726. The bypass conduit 2728 has a significantly smaller volume than the expansion section 2724. In at least one implementation, the effluent gas can be directed to flow into the bypass conduit 2728 by opening a valve 2734 near or within the inlet to the bypass conduit 2728 and closing a valve 2736 on the foreline outlet conduit 2722. The effluent gas flowing through the bypass conduit 2728, after exiting the foreline network 2718 through the metering valve 2726, experiences a controlled pressure drop, which can reduce the Joule-Thomson cooling of the effluent gas.

[0144] In at least one implementation, process gas effluent passing through the narrow opening of the metering valve 2726 can rapidly expand upon entering the expansion section 2724. A rapid drop in gas pressure can cause adiabatic expansion of the effluent gas, resulting in a rapid decrease in gas temperature (Joule-Thomson effect). When the effluent gas temperature drops below the condensation temperature of the deposition precursors, solid and semi-solid materials may condense on the inner surface of the foreline outlet conduit 2722. These solid and semi-solid materials can accumulate on the inner surface of the foreline outlet conduit 2722 over multiple process operations and may be formed by condensed (and polymerized) deposition compounds (e.g., deposition precursors) entrained in the effluent. Such contamination can clog the foreline outlet conduit 2722, requiring the disassembly of the vacuum pump system to remove the blockage and clean the foreline outlet conduit 2722.

[0145] In some embodiments, the bypass conduit 2728 provides an alternative flow path to the foreline outlet conduit 2722. In Figure 19, the bypass conduit 2728 branches off from the foreline outlet conduit 2722 at branching point 2730 and rejoins the foreline outlet conduit 2722 at re-entry point 2732. Because it has a smaller expansion volume than the expansion section 2724, the bypass conduit 2728 can mitigate the abrupt pressure drop of the effluent gas flowing through the metering valve 2726. In at least one implementation, the flow resistance of the bypass conduit 2728 may be designed to provide sufficient back pressure upstream of the metering valve 2726 to allow the deposition process to proceed within the vacuum chamber 2702 without restricting the flow through the metering valve 2726, as described above. In at least one implementation, the pressure drop of the effluent gas flowing through the bypass conduit 2728 may be gradual. In at least one implementation, the effluent gas pressure can decrease monotonically along the length of the bypass conduit 2728. In at least one implementation, the temperature of the effluent gas remains above the condensation temperature, thereby reducing condensation of the effluent components. The effluent gas can be directed to flow into the bypass conduit 2728 by opening valve 2734 on the bypass conduit 2728 and closing valve 2736 on the foreline outlet conduit 2722.

[0146] In at least one implementation, a filter or filter 2738 may be located in series with the foreline outlet conduit 2722, adjacent to the re-entry point 2732, to capture condensed particulate matter that may be entrained in the outflow logistics passing through the bypass conduit 2728. The foreline outlet conduit 2722 may be terminated with a valve 2740. The valve 2740 can isolate the foreline outlet conduit 2722 from a vacuum pump that may be coupled to the foreline outlet conduit 2722 via the valve 2740 (indicated by a downward arrow).

[0147] Figure 20 shows cross-sectional views of the vacuum pump system 2720 in several implementation configurations. Many components of the vacuum pump system 2720 have already been introduced in Figure 19, but further details are described below. The branching point 2730 may be located at a distance L1 downstream from the metering valve 2726, and the re-entry point 2732 may be located at a distance L2 downstream from the branching point 2730. In some cases, the distance L2 may also be approximately the length of the bypass conduit 2728. The bypass conduit 2728 has a diameter D1, and in some implementation configurations, the diameter D1 may be smaller than the diameter D2 of the expansion section 2724 in order to support a low-conductance flow path for process effluent. The bypass conduit may be a low-conductance conduit to allow for lower effluent flow and higher working pressure within the vacuum chamber 2702.

[0148] In at least one implementation, the diameter D2 of the expansion section 2724 may be about 4 inches (about 10 cm). The diameter D2 may be selected to create a high-conductance, high-flow channel to allow the cleaning gas and effluent to be rapidly swept through the process chamber 2702. The diameter D1 of the bypass conduit 2728 may be about 2 inches (about 5 cm) or less in some embodiments. In at least one implementation, the bypass conduit 2728 is designed to allow a gradual pressure drop of the effluent gas to avoid a sharp pressure drop of the effluent gas, thereby reducing the condensation of precursors on the inner wall of the foreline outlet conduit 2722. The diameter D1 and length L2 of the bypass conduit 2728 can be adjusted to develop a low-conductance channel suitable for generating a small pressure gradient along the bypass conduit 2728, which can significantly limit the pressure drop of the effluent gas flowing through the bypass conduit 2728 before it re-enters the foreline outlet conduit 2722. In at least one implementation, ballast gas can be introduced near the branch point 2730 to maintain the working chamber pressure at a preset level. This may be the same or similar ballast gas injection as provided above.

[0149] In at least one implementation, the pressure gradient in the bypass conduit 2728 may also be designed to maintain a relatively high working pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702 without significantly closing the metering valve 2726 to restrict the flow of effluent to the vacuum pump system 2720. In some implementations, the working pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702 may be 5 Torr or greater during the plasma or non-plasma deposition process. The bypass conduit 2728 may include an expansion section 2742 upstream of the re-entry point 2732. In at least one implementation, the expansion section 2742 may allow for a gradual expansion and pressure drop of the effluent gas re-entering the foreline outlet conduit 2722 at the re-entry point 2732. In at least one implementation, the foreline outlet conduit 2722 is a high-conductance channel.

[0150] As further shown in Figure 20, the re-entry point 2732 opens into the lower section 2744 of the foreline outlet conduit 2722. The lower section 2744 may have a diameter D3 similar to the diameter D2 of the expansion section 2724. In at least one implementation, the expansion of the spillway may occur in the lower section 2744 more rapidly than in the bypass conduit 2728, but less rapidly than in the expansion section 2724. A filter 2738 may be included in the lower section 2744 to capture condensed particulate matter that may be entrained in the spillway. In some implementations, the filter 2738 includes an opening 2746 as shown in the inset. The opening 2746 may have a characteristic diameter of 3 mm or less, and in other implementations, the characteristic diameter may be a geometric diameter (e.g., a circular opening 2746) or a hydraulic diameter (e.g., a rectangular opening 2746).

[0151] Figure 21 shows a plan view of the foreline network 2718 in at least one implementation configuration. This may be similar to the foreline network in Figures 8A and 8B. Here, the bottom wall 2716 of the vacuum chamber 2702 is shown, which comprises four process stations. The foreline network 2718 extends over the bottom wall 2716 of the vacuum chamber 2702 and comprises conduits 2748 and 2750. In at least one implementation configuration, conduits 2748 and 2750 are interconnected by conduit 2719. In at least one implementation configuration, conduits 2748 and 2750 include a vertical interconnection (e.g., extending in the z dimension of the figure) that connects conduits 2748 and 2750 to exit ports (e.g., exit ports 2712 and 2714, shown as hidden lines).

[0152] In at least one implementation, the flange 2752 extends over the conduit 2719. In at least one implementation, the flange 2752 has a larger diameter than the conduit 2719. In at least one implementation, the flange 2752 can provide a joint for connecting the expansion section 2724 or metering valve 2726 of the foreline outlet conduit 2722 to the foreline network 2718.

[0153] Figure 22 shows a cross-sectional view of a process tool system 3000, comprising a process tool 2700 (outlined in a dashed box) coupled to a mass flow controller 3010 and a vacuum pump 3020, in at least one implementation configuration. The flow controller 3010 can be coupled to a foreline network 2718 via a conduit 3012 and to a supply source of replenishment gas or ballast gas (e.g., nitrogen, argon) introduced into the foreline network 2718. The flow controller 3010 may be operable to control the flow of replenishment gas or ballast gas to maintain the working pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702 during the deposition process. In at least one implementation configuration, the pressure drop of the effluent gas can be controlled as described above, but the bypass conduit 2728 may not be able to maintain the working pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702. In at least one implementation, the flow controller 3010 can adjust the flow of supplemental gas from an external gas supply unit (not shown) into the foreline network 2718 to pressurize the conduit 2719 (and conduits 2748 and 2750, Figure 21) and increase the working pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702.

[0154] The vacuum pump 3020 is shown coupled to the foreline outlet conduit 2722 below the valve 2740. In at least one implementation, the vacuum pump 3020 comprises a diffusion pump or turbomolecular pump for generating a high vacuum, followed by a roughing pump (not shown). The valve 2740 is operable to isolate the process tool 2700 from the vacuum pump 3020. In at least one implementation, the valve 2740 is a gate valve and is configured to close to isolate the vacuum chamber 2702 and the vacuum pumping system 2720 when tool maintenance is performed. In at least one implementation, the vacuum chamber 2702 may be brought to atmospheric pressure and opened to access the process station. Isolation of both the process tool 2700 and the vacuum pump 3020 by the valve 2740 allows the pumps of the pumping system to continue pumping during tool maintenance, saving start-up time (e.g., pre-adjustment of the diffusion pump) when the process tool system 3000 is returned to service.

[0155] Figure 23 shows a cross-sectional view of the process tool system of Figure 22 undergoing deposition in at least one configuration. As shown, the chamber 2702 is a multi-station chamber, and the deposition process is performed on both substrates within the chamber 2702. As described herein, in some embodiments, this operation may be an etching operation on the substrates within the chamber 2702, and in other embodiments, this operation may be deposition on another substrate while etching at least one substrate simultaneously. The process gas is introduced into the vacuum chamber 2702 of the process tool system 3000 through showerheads 2704 and 2706. The downward arrows below the showerheads 2704 and 2706 indicate the introduction of the process gas into the vacuum chamber 2702.

[0156] In some implementations, the process gas may include a gaseous precursor compound diluted with a carrier gas such as nitrogen or argon. The precursor compound can be sublimated or vaporized at high temperatures from a solid or liquid source. The process gas may be preheated to high temperatures before entering showerheads 2704 and 2706. In some implementations, the process gas may not experience a large pressure change when entering the vacuum chamber 2702, so the vaporized precursor may not condense when exiting showerheads 2704 and 2706. Plasma (not shown) may be ignited and maintained between showerhead 2704 and pedestal 2708, and between showerhead 2706 and pedestal 2710. The temperature in the plasma can be substantially higher than room temperature, and the presence of the gaseous phase of the deposition precursor is also maintained.

[0157] In some implementations, pedestals 2708 and 2710 support a semiconductor or insulating wafer or substrate on which a film can be grown by impacting precursor molecules. The wafer or substrate can be heated to a high temperature to enable surface reactions such as the decomposition or polymerization of precursors, allowing a solid film to grow on the wafer surface. Spent process gas can flow through pedestals 2708 and 2710 and may contain few precursor molecules. Some precursor molecules may be entrained in the spent process gas stream bypassing pedestals 2708 and 2710.

[0158] The spent process gas can be collected at outlet ports 2712 and 2714 as process gas effluent, indicated by arrows converging at the mouths of the outlet ports 2712 and 2714. The process gas effluent can be evacuated from the vacuum processing chamber into interconnected conduits (e.g., conduits 2719, 2748, and 2750) of the foreline network 2718. The arrow in conduit 2719 indicates the flow of process gas effluent toward the metering valve 2726. The process gas effluent flows through the metering valve 2726 into the expansion section 2724 of the foreline outlet conduit 2722. In at least one implementation, valve 2736 in the foreline outlet conduit 2722 is closed, directing the effluent flow into the bypass conduit 2728 at branching point 2730. Valve 2734 may be opened to allow flow into the bypass conduit 2728. In some implementations, valves 2734 and 2736 are butterfly valves or gate valves. In at least one implementation, valves 2734 and 2736 may be coupled to actuators (not shown) that receive signals from a controller (not shown).

[0159] In at least one implementation, the bypass conduit 2728 may be designed to prevent rapid expansion of the effluent gas flowing inside it, thereby reducing condensation of entrained precursor vapors. A gradual pressure drop can be caused by the flow of effluent within the bypass conduit 2728, thereby optimizing the dimensions of the bypass conduit 2728 for a range of flow rates, as described above. The effluent gas may expand more gradually within section 2742 of the bypass conduit 2728 before expanding into the lower section 2744. In at least one implementation, entrained condensates (e.g., particulate matter) may be captured by the filter 2738 as the effluent flows out through the vacuum pump system 2720.

[0160] The bypass conduit 2728 can generate sufficient back pressure to maintain at least a minimum working pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702. In at least one implementation, the working pressure may be 5 Torr or greater. In at least one implementation, the metering valve 2726 may be fully open during the deposition process because the bypass conduit 2728 is operable to maintain the working pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702. Similarly, in at least one implementation, a replenishment gas or ballast gas (e.g., nitrogen, argon) can be introduced into the foreline, including the foreline network 2718, to increase the pressure level. The flow rate of the replenishment gas may be regulated by the flow controller 3010. The replenishment gas may be coupled into the foreline network 2718 through the conduit 3012 as described herein, via a gas injector not shown herein, for example, shown in Figures 1A, 1C and 7A, 8B. The working pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702 can be varied depending on the specific process.

[0161] Figure 24 shows a cross-sectional view of a process tool system 3000 undergoing a cleaning operation in at least one implementation configuration. The cleaning gas can be introduced into the vacuum chamber 2702 of the process tool system 3000 through the cleaning gas inlet port 3030. The downward arrow below the cleaning gas inlet port 3030 indicates the introduction of the cleaning gas into the vacuum chamber 2702. The cleaning gas may contain a fluorinated compound diluted with a carrier gas such as nitrogen or argon, and the cleaning gas can be preheated to a high temperature before entering the cleaning gas inlet port 3030.

[0162] The cleaning gas can be collected at outlet ports 2712 and 2714 as cleaning gas effluent, indicated by arrows converging at the mouths of the outlet ports 2712 and 2714. In at least one implementation, the cleaning gas effluent is exhausted from the vacuum processing chamber into interconnected conduits of the foreline network 2718 (e.g., conduits 2719, 2748, and 2750). The arrow in conduit 2719 indicates the flow of cleaning gas effluent toward metering valve 2726. The cleaning gas effluent flows through metering valve 127 to the expansion section 2724 of foreline outlet conduit 2722. As shown here, valve 2736 in foreline outlet conduit 2722 is open, guiding the effluent flow to continue flowing through foreline outlet conduit 2722, as indicated by the arrow. Valve 2734 may be closed to disable the flow toward bypass conduit 2728.

[0163] During the cleaning operation, the pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702 may be reduced relative to the operating pressure of the deposition process. The pressure in the vacuum chamber 2702 may be less than 1 Torr, and the cleaning gas may be rapidly swept through the vacuum chamber 2702. The cleaning operation can employ a higher flow rate at a lower pressure than the deposition process. In some implementations, the foreline outlet conduit 2722 has a larger diameter (e.g., D1 in Figure 20) than the diameter of the bypass conduit 2728 (e.g., D2 in Figure 20). Higher flow rates of cleaning gas can be supported by passing the cleaning gas through the foreline outlet conduit 2722. Valve 2726 may be fully open during the cleaning operation to allow for a larger flow rate. In some implementations, valve 2726 may be omitted.

[0164] Figure 25 shows a flow chart of the technology for performing a deposition process in a vacuum chamber in several implementation configurations. Before or during the deposition process, in operation 3302, a foreline valve such as valve 2736 can be closed, and in operation 3304, a bypass line can be opened. While the foreline valve is closed and the bypass line is open, deposition can be performed in operation 3306. During this deposition, ballast gas can be flowed into the foreline in operation 3308, as described above.

[0165] In operation 3302, a foreline valve (e.g., valve 2736) can be closed to direct the effluent flow to the bypass conduit 2728. For example, referring to Figure 19, spent process gas flowing through one or more process stations can flow to outlet ports 2712 and 2714 and then to the foreline network 2718. When valve 2736 is closed, the gas flows to the bypass conduit 2728, which can provide a path with lower conductance than the foreline outlet conduit 2722, allowing for a gradual pressure drop (e.g., along the length of the bypass conduit) of the effluent gas flowing toward the vacuum pump. A gradual pressure drop of the effluent gas can mitigate the rapid expansion of the effluent and prevent sudden condensation and deposition of precursors on the internal surfaces of the vacuum lines in the vacuum system.

[0166] In operation 3304, the bypass conduit valve 2734 can be opened to allow the effluent to flow through the bypass conduit and rejoin the foreline downstream of the closed foreline valve 2736. The effluent re-entering the foreline may undergo some rapid expansion because the volume of the lower section of the foreline may be larger than the internal volume of the bypass conduit. In at least one implementation, some condensates may be entrained by the effluent re-entering the foreline. A grid or filter 2738 is located within the lower section of the foreline and can capture and filter out condensates and particulates entrained in the flow of effluent. The effluent can continue to flow to a vacuum pump at the end of the vacuum system.

[0167] In operation 3306, at least one deposition process is performed within the vacuum chamber of the process tool (e.g., the vacuum chamber 2702 of process tool 2700). The process tool may comprise multiple process stations as described above. During deposition, one or more layers of the film can be grown on the substrate. The deposition process may be, for example, CVD, PECVD, or ALD.

[0168] In operation 3308, ballast gas can be introduced into the foreline network to provide back pressure within the foreline network and maintain the working pressure in the vacuum chamber at a set value. In at least one implementation, the bypass conduit (bypass conduit 2728) is a low-conductance conduit, but may not be able to maintain the working pressure in the vacuum chamber at the desired precursor flow rate. The ballast gas may be introduced through a flow controller (e.g., flow controller 3010). The flow controller can dynamically control the flow rate of the ballast gas in accordance with pressure fluctuations in the chamber. The ballast gas may include an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen. The flow controller can be adjusted to increase the working pressure in the vacuum chamber by supplying replenishment gas from an external gas source into the foreline network.

[0169] Figure 26 shows a flow diagram of the technology for performing a cleaning operation in a vacuum processing chamber in several implementation configurations. In operation 3402, the bypass line can be closed, and in operation 3404, the foreline outlet conduit can be opened. While the bypass line is closed and the foreline outlet conduit is open, the cleaning operation can be performed in operation 3406. In operation 3402, referring to Figure 19, the bypass conduit valve 2734 is closed, directing the flow of cleaning gas effluent to the high-conductance foreline outlet conduit 2722. In operation 3406, the foreline valve 2736 can be opened, directing the flow to the foreline outlet conduit 2722. In at least one implementation configuration, the foreline outlet conduit 2722 has a larger diameter than the bypass conduit and provides a flow path with higher conductance than the bypass conduit. In some cases, the rapid expansion of the cleaning gas effluent may not be a problem, and the foreline outlet conduit 2722 may be preferable for guiding the cleaning gas effluent because it can support higher flow rates and lower chamber pressures.

[0170] In operation 3402, the cleaning process is performed within the vacuum chamber of the process tool (e.g., vacuum chamber 2702 of process tool 2700). The cleaning gas may contain fluorine radicals and / or oxygen radicals. In at least one implementation, the cleaning gas may be introduced into the vacuum chamber by an inlet port (e.g., cleaning gas inlet port 3030). In at least one implementation, the cleaning operation may be performed at a relatively lower chamber pressure and a higher flow rate than those used during the deposition process.

[0171] The following are additional implementations provided in consideration of the above implementations. Here, one or more features of an implementation can, alone or in combination, be combined with one or more features of one or more other implementations to form further implementations that also fall within the scope of this disclosure. Thus, various implementations can be combined with other implementations without changing the scope of this disclosure.

[0172] Implementation form 1: Apparatus for a foreline antifouling assembly of a semiconductor processing system, the apparatus comprising a catcher configured to be coupled to a foreline segment, the foreline segment configured to be fluidly connected to the foreline of a semiconductor processing system, the catcher including an accumulation surface configured to collide with a flow of process gas through the foreline segment, the catcher deposits material from the process gas onto the accumulation surface during a semiconductor processing operation when the catcher is coupled to the foreline segment and the foreline segment is fluidly connected to the foreline, and the accumulation surface is further configured to collide with plasma to remove material from the accumulation surface during a foreline cleaning operation when the catcher is coupled to the foreline segment and the foreline segment is fluidly connected to the foreline.

[0173] Implementation form 2: The apparatus of implementation form 1, wherein the catcher comprises a conduit including a first end portion, the first end portion being an open end having a rim defining an inlet, the inlet being configured to receive a flow of process gas during semiconductor processing operations, and the inlet being further configured to receive a flow of plasma during foreline cleaning operations.

[0174] Implementation form 3. The apparatus of implementation form 2, wherein the conduit further includes a second end portion opposite to the first end portion, and the accumulation surface includes a first accumulation surface spaced apart from the second end portion and a second accumulation surface on the second end portion, and the second end portion is configured to collect material peeled off from the first accumulation surface.

[0175] Implementation form 4: The device of implementation form 3, in which the conduit is made of steel alloy, aluminum alloy, or ceramic material.

[0176] Implementation form 5: The device of implementation form 3, in which the second end portion of the conduit is a closed end.

[0177] Implementation form 6: The apparatus of implementation form 5, further comprising a support structure configured to attach the first end portion of the conduit to a foreline segment.

[0178] Implementation form 7: The device of implementation form 6, in which the second end portion of the conduit lacks a support structure.

[0179] Implementation form 8: The apparatus of implementation form 3, wherein the conduit extends between a first end portion and a second end portion and includes a side wall that defines a passage along the longitudinal axis, the side wall being configured to hold material deposited from the process gas into the passage of the catcher.

[0180] Implementation form 9: The device of implementation form 8, wherein the side wall includes an outlet, and a passage is fluidly interposed between the inlet and outlet.

[0181] Implementation form 10: The apparatus of implementation form 9, wherein the side wall outlet is spaced apart from the second accumulation surface, and the side wall includes an annular flange configured to hold material within the catcher passage.

[0182] Implementation form 11: The apparatus of implementation form 3, wherein the conduit includes a column extending between a first end portion and a second end portion, and the column is configured to hold material within the passage of a catcher.

[0183] Implementation form 12: The device of Implementation Form 1, wherein the accumulation surface includes a direct collision section extending in a direction having a lateral component perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the catcher, and for each position in the first set of positions, a plurality of direct line-of-sight lines exist from that position to a corresponding viewpoint outside the catcher located along the upstream direction of the foreline relative to the catcher, and each position in the first set of positions is located on the direct collision section, the direct collision section includes a lateral occlusion profile in the foreline, and the lateral occlusion profile is configured to occlude a range of 10% to 90% of the segment cross-sectional area of ​​the foreline segment.

[0184] Implementation form 13: The catcher is a device of implementation form 1, comprising multiple panels having accumulation surfaces.

[0185] Implementation form 14: The device of implementation form 1, wherein the storage surface includes a flat portion, a convex portion, or a concave portion.

[0186] Implementation form 15: The device of implementation form 1, wherein the catcher includes a post having a shaft terminating at its tip, and one or both of the shaft and / or the tip include an accumulation surface.

[0187] Implementation form 16: A semiconductor processing system comprising: a processing chamber defining an internal volume; a foreline fluidly connected to the internal volume of the processing chamber and configured to receive a flow of process gas from the processing chamber, the foreline having an exhaust interface configured to be connected to an exhaust system; a valve located within the foreline and including an orifice; and a catcher located within the foreline and configured to fluidly interpose between the valve and the exhaust interface of the foreline, wherein the catcher includes an accumulation surface configured to be impacted by the flow of process gas through the foreline, and when the catcher is coupled to the foreline, material from the process gas is deposited on the accumulation surface during a semiconductor processing operation; and the accumulation surface is further configured to be impacted by plasma during a foreline cleaning operation when the catcher is coupled to the foreline to remove material from the accumulation surface.

[0188] Implementation form 17: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 16, wherein the valve comprises a sealing ring arranged coaxially with a foreline and a gate having an outer edge region, the gate being movable between a first position in which the outer edge region is sealed and engaged with at least a portion of the sealing ring and a second position in which a portion of the outer edge region is displaced radially inward from the inner circumference of the sealing ring.

[0189] Implementation configuration 18: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation configuration 17, wherein the orifice is located in the region of the gate that is within the central region of the sealing ring when the gate is in the first position.

[0190] Implementation form 19: The semiconductor processing system of implementation form 18, wherein the catcher comprises a post having a shaft terminated at its tip, and one or both of the shaft and the tip include an accumulation surface, and the shaft is positioned coaxially with an orifice in the gate.

[0191] Implementation form 20: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 17, wherein the catcher comprises a conduit including a first end portion, the first end portion being an open end having a rim defining an inlet, the inlet being configured to receive a flow of process gas during a semiconductor processing operation, and the inlet being further configured to receive a flow of plasma during a foreline cleaning operation.

[0192] Implementation form 21: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 20, wherein when the gate is in the first position, the entrance in the catcher and the orifice in the gate are arranged coaxially.

[0193] Implementation form 22: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 20, wherein the orifice in the gate has a first diameter, and the entrance to the catcher has a second diameter that is larger than the first diameter of the orifice in the gate.

[0194] Implementation form 23: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 22, wherein the ratio of the second diameter of the inlet to the first diameter of the orifice is at least 1.5:1.

[0195] Implementation form 24: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 20, wherein the conduit further includes a second end portion opposite to the first end portion, and the storage surface includes a first storage surface spaced apart from the second end portion and a second storage surface on the second end portion, and the second end portion is configured to collect material peeled off from the first storage surface.

[0196] Implementation form 25: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 24, in which the conduit is made of steel alloy, aluminum alloy, or ceramic material.

[0197] Implementation form 26: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 24, wherein the second end portion of the conduit is a closed end.

[0198] Implementation form 27: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 26, further comprising a support structure configured to attach the first end portion of a conduit to a foreline.

[0199] Implementation form 28: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 27, in which the second end portion of the conduit lacks a support structure.

[0200] Implementation form 29: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 24, wherein the conduit extends between a first end portion and a second end portion and includes a side wall that defines a passage along the longitudinal axis, the side wall being configured to hold material deposited from the process gas into the passage of the catcher.

[0201] Implementation configuration 30: A semiconductor processing system of implementation configuration 29, wherein the side wall includes an outlet, and a passage is fluidly interposed between the inlet and outlet.

[0202] Implementation configuration 31: A semiconductor processing system of implementation configuration 30, wherein the outlet includes a single outlet or a set of outlets at one or more angular positions on the side wall.

[0203] Implementation form 32: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 16, wherein the accumulation surface includes a direct collision section extending in a direction having a lateral component perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the catcher, and for each position in the first set of positions, a plurality of direct line-of-sight lines exist from that position to a corresponding viewpoint outside the catcher located along the upstream direction of the foreline relative to the catcher, and each position in the first set of positions is located on the direct collision section, the direct collision section includes a lateral occlusion profile within the foreline, and the lateral occlusion profile is configured to occlude a range of 10% to 50% of the segment cross-sectional area of ​​the foreline.

[0204] Implementation configuration 33: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation configuration 16, wherein the catcher is coupled to a foreline segment of a foreline, and the foreline segment is either an integral part of the foreline or a separate flanged tube fluidly interposed between a first part of the foreline and a second part of the foreline.

[0205] Implementation configuration 34: The semiconductor processing system of implementation configuration 33, wherein a separate flanged tube includes an inlet end configured to fluidly connect to a first portion of a foreline which is fluidly connected to the internal volume of a processing chamber, an outlet end configured to fluidly connect to a second portion of a foreline which is fluidly connected to an exhaust system, and a fluid-interposed flow path between the inlet end and the outlet end.

[0206] Implementation form 35: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 34, wherein the flow path of a foreline segment without a catcher has a segment cross-sectional area, and the catcher has a lateral occlusion profile configured to occlude a range of 10% to 50% of the segment cross-sectional area of ​​the foreline segment when a catcher on which no material has accumulated is placed in the flow path of the foreline segment.

[0207] Implementation form 36: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 35, wherein the accumulation surface includes direct collision sections extending in a second direction having a lateral component perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the catcher, and the lateral occlusion profile includes the total cross-sectional area of ​​the lateral components of all direct collision sections.

[0208] Implementation form 37: A semiconductor processing system comprising a processing chamber defining an internal volume, and a foreline that is fluidly connected to the internal volume of the processing chamber and configured to receive a flow of process gas from the processing chamber, and having an exhaust interface configured to connect to an exhaust system, wherein the foreline further includes a remote plasma source interface (RPS interface) that is fluidly interposed between the internal volume of the processing chamber and the exhaust interface, and the RPS interface is fluidly connected to a remote plasma source and configured to guide the plasma flow from the remote plasma source to the foreline without first flowing through the internal volume of the processing chamber.

[0209] Implementation form 38: The semiconductor processing system of implementation form 37, wherein the RPS interface is fluidly interposed between the internal volume of the processing chamber and the focal region of the foreline, and during semiconductor processing operations performed within the internal volume, the material is deposited on the focal region at a rate higher than a first threshold rate at which the material is deposited on another focal region of the foreline.

[0210] Implementation form 39: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 37 or 38, wherein the foreline branches into multiple segments defining multiple flow paths, each flow path leading to a different exhaust port of the processing chamber, and each segment includes a nonlinear section defining a corresponding nonlinear portion of the flow path through the foreline, and the RPS interface is fluidically interposed between at least one of the corresponding nonlinear portions of the flow path and the exhaust interface.

[0211] Implementation form 40: The RPS interface is fluidly interposed between all nonlinear portions of the flow path and the exhaust interface in the semiconductor processing system of implementation form 39.

[0212] Implementation form 41: A semiconductor processing system of any of the implementation forms 37 to 40, wherein the RPS interface defines a plasma path configured to guide the plasma flow along a direction having a component parallel to the downstream direction of the foreline during a foreline cleaning process.

[0213] Implementation form 42: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 41, wherein the foreline includes a foreline wall, and the plasma passage is configured to guide the plasma flow along a direction of 30 to 60 degrees relative to the foreline wall during the foreline cleaning process.

[0214] Implementation form 43: The semiconductor processing system of implementation form 37, wherein the RPS interface includes a nozzle having a plasma passage that is fluidly interposed between a remote plasma source and the RPS interface of the foreline.

[0215] Implementation form 44: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 43, wherein the RPS interface includes a nozzle having a first end portion connected to a remote plasma source and a second end portion connected to a foreline RPS interface, and the plasma passage includes a first segment having a first diameter at the first end portion of the nozzle and a second segment having a second diameter at the second end portion of the nozzle, the first diameter of the first segment being greater than the second diameter of the second segment.

[0216] Implementation form 45: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 43, wherein the nozzle has a nozzle wall including a surface defining a plasma path, the nozzle wall having a first end portion connected to a remote plasma source and a second end portion connected to the RPS interface of a foreline, the nozzle includes a port and an outlet port both located at the first end portion of the nozzle wall, and a coolant passage located at the nozzle wall, the coolant passage defining a flow path from the inlet port to the outlet port and passing through the second end portion.

[0217] Implementation form 46: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 45, wherein the coolant passage includes a meandering coolant passage that alternately passes through a plurality of sections of a first end portion and a plurality of sections of a second end portion, and the meandering coolant passage has one end fluidly connected to an inlet port and the other end fluidly connected to an outlet port.

[0218] Implementation form 47: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 43, comprising a nozzle having an RPS interface with a first end portion connected to a remote plasma source and a second end portion connected to a foreline RPS interface, wherein the nozzle has a nozzle wall including a first surface facing radially inward toward the central axis and defining a plasma path along the central axis, the nozzle wall further including a second surface facing radially outward toward the central axis, one or more heat sinks mounted on the second surface, and each of the one or more heat sinks having one or more coolant passages fluidly interposed between an inlet port and an outlet port.

[0219] Implementation configuration 48: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation configuration 47, wherein one or more heat sinks include a first block and a second block clamped to a nozzle by one or more fasteners.

[0220] Implementation form 49: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 48, wherein the first block and the second block are formed from aluminum, copper, or nickel.

[0221] Implementation configuration 50: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation configuration 48, wherein the connector line is fluidly interposed between one or more coolant passages of a first block and one or more coolant passages of a second block.

[0222] Implementation configuration 51: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation configuration 47, wherein one or more coolant passages are located outside at least one of the foreline and nozzle.

[0223] Implementation configuration 52: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation configuration 51, wherein one or more heat sinks are attached to the first end portion of a nozzle adjacent to a remote plasma source.

[0224] Implementation configuration 53: A semiconductor processing system of implementation configuration 43, in which the nozzle protrudes into the interior of the foreline.

[0225] Implementation configuration 54: A semiconductor processing system of implementation configuration 37, wherein the RPS interface terminates at an opening defined in the foreline wall of the foreline.

[0226] Implementation configuration 55: The semiconductor processing system of implementation configuration 37, wherein the foreline includes a pendulum valve fluidly interposed between the RPS interface and the exhaust interface.

[0227] Implementation form 56: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 55, comprising a pendulum valve, a sealing ring arranged coaxially with a foreline, and a gate having an outer edge region, wherein the gate is movable between a first position in which the outer edge region is sealed and engaged with at least a portion of the sealing ring, and a second position in which a portion of the outer edge region is displaced radially inward from the inner circumference of the sealing ring.

[0228] Implementation form 57: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 56, wherein the RPS interface defines a plasma path configured to guide the plasma flow toward a position where the outer edge region of the gate is located when the gate is in a second position.

[0229] Implementation form 58: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 57, wherein the gate includes an orifice located in the region of the gate that is within the central region of the sealing ring when the gate is in a first position.

[0230] Implementation form 59: A semiconductor processing system of Implementation form 58, further comprising: a gas distribution system including a plurality of valves controllable to selectively distribute process gases from a plurality of different gas sources connectable to the gas distribution system into a processing chamber; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to control the valves of the gas distribution system to distribute process gases into the processing chamber during semiconductor processing operation in order to adjust the chamber pressure when the gate is in a first position in which the outer edge region of the gate is sealed-engaged with at least a portion of the sealing ring and the flow of process gas through the interface between the outer edge region and the sealing ring is blocked.

[0231] Implementation configuration 60: A semiconductor processing system of implementation configuration 59, wherein the controller is configured to control the valves of the gas distribution system to prevent process gas from flowing into the processing chamber during the foreline cleaning process.

[0232] Implementation form 61: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 60, wherein the remote plasma source is configured to generate plasma using at least one of oxygen and fluorine.

[0233] Implementation form 62: A semiconductor processing system according to implementation form 60, further comprising a remote plasma source and a foreline plasma valve fluidly interposed between the remote plasma source and the foreline RPS interface, wherein the controller is configured to control the remote plasma source and the foreline plasma valve to flow plasma from the remote plasma source into the foreline during the foreline cleaning process.

[0234] Implementation form 63: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 62, wherein the controller is configured to control a foreline plasma valve to prevent process gas from flowing through the RPS interface and to prevent material from accumulating within the RPS interface during semiconductor processing operation.

[0235] Implementation form 64: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 58, wherein a portion of the outer edge region includes a notch configured to allow a portion of the process gas to flow when the gate is moved from a first position to a second position by a small angular motion of less than a predetermined angle, and a pendulum valve to precisely control and gradually adjust the flow rate of the process gas, and the flow of the process gas is distributed between the orifice and the notch when the gate is in a second position where it is located radially inward from the inner circumference of the sealing ring.

[0236] Implementation form 65: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 64, further comprising a gate valve fluidly interposed between the RPS interface and a pendulum valve, wherein the gate valve is configured to move between an open position and a closed position in which the gate valve completely blocks all process gas from flowing through the foreline.

[0237] Implementation form 66: The RPS interface is made of anodized aluminum alloy, and it is a semiconductor processing system of implementation form 37.

[0238] Implementation form 67: A semiconductor processing system of implementation form 37, wherein the remote plasma source is separate from the chamber cleaning plasma source and is configured to supply plasma to the processing chamber.

[0239] Implementation form 68 is a process tool comprising a vacuum chamber, a first conduit having a first diameter, the first conduit being coupled to the vacuum chamber via a foreline network, and the foreline network being coupled to the outlet of the vacuum chamber, and a second conduit coupled to the first conduit, the second conduit having a second diameter smaller than the first conduit.

[0240] Implementation form 69 is a process tool of any implementation form herein, in particular implementation form 68, wherein the second conduit branches off from the first conduit at a branching point located at a first distance from the junction between the first conduit and the foreline network, and rejoins the first conduit at a re-entry point located at a second distance from the junction between the first conduit and the foreline network, and the second distance is greater than the first distance.

[0241] Implementation form 70 is any implementation form of this specification, in particular the process tool of implementation form 69, wherein the first valve is located on the first conduit between the branching point and the re-entry point, and the second valve is located between the foreline network and the first conduit.

[0242] Implementation form 71 is any implementation form of this specification, in particular the process tool of implementation form 70, wherein the first valve and the second valve are either a ball valve, a butterfly valve, or a gate valve.

[0243] Implementation form 72 is any implementation form of this specification, in particular the process tool of implementation form 70, wherein a third valve is positioned between the foreline network and the first conduit.

[0244] Implementation form 73 is any implementation form described herein, in particular the process tool of implementation form 69, where the third valve is a pendulum valve, a butterfly valve, or a gate valve.

[0245] Implementation form 74 is any implementation form of this specification, in particular the process tool of implementation form 73, wherein the filter is located in the first conduit adjacent to the re-entry point.

[0246] Implementation form 75 is a process tool of any implementation form herein, in particular implementation form 74, wherein the filter includes a plurality of openings, the plurality of openings having at least one characteristic diameter.

[0247] Implementation form 76 is any implementation form described herein, in particular the process tool of implementation form 75, wherein at least one characteristic diameter is 3 mm or less.

[0248] Implementation form 77 is any implementation form described herein, in particular any one of implementation forms 68 to 76 of the process tool, wherein the foreline network includes a vacuum chamber outlet and a third conduit coupled to the first conduit.

[0249] Implementation form 78 is a process tool of any implementation form described herein, in particular implementation form 77, further comprising at least one fourth conduit coupled to a foreline network.

[0250] Implementation form 79 is a process tool system comprising: a processing chamber; a first conduit having a first diameter connected to the processing chamber via a foreline network, the first conduit being connected to the foreline network, and the foreline network being connected to one or more outlets on the processing chamber; a second conduit connected to the first conduit, the second conduit having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, and the process tool system comprising a vacuum pump connected to the first conduit; and a flow controller connected to the foreline network.

[0251] Implementation form 80 is any implementation form of this specification, in particular the process tool system of implementation form 79, wherein the foreline network includes a plurality of interconnected third conduits, the plurality of interconnected third conduits being coupled to one or more outlets of the processing chamber and the first conduit.

[0252] Implementation form 81 is any implementation form of this specification, in particular the process tool system of implementation form 79, further comprising a fourth conduit coupled to a foreline network, wherein a flow controller is coupled to the fourth conduit.

[0253] Implementation form 82 is any implementation form described herein, in particular the process tool system of implementation form 81, wherein the gas supply unit is coupled to the flow controller.

[0254] Implementation form 83 is any implementation form of this specification, in particular the process tool system of implementation form 79, wherein a first valve is located on a first conduit and a second valve is located on a second conduit.

[0255] Implementation form 84 is any implementation form described herein, in particular the process tool system of implementation form 83, wherein the first valve is coupled to the first valve actuator and the second valve is coupled to the second valve actuator.

[0256] Implementation form 85 is a method comprising the steps of: performing a deposition process with a deposition process tool, wherein the deposition process tool comprises: a processing chamber; a first conduit having a first diameter, connected to the processing chamber via a foreline network, the first conduit having a foreline network connected to the outlet of the processing chamber; and a second conduit connected to the first conduit, the second conduit having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter; closing a first valve on the first conduit to block the flow of process gas through the first conduit; and opening a second valve on the second conduit, the process gas flowing through the second conduit, the flow of process gas through the second conduit being limited by the second diameter.

[0257] Implementation form 86 is any implementation form of this specification, in particular the method of implementation form 85, further comprising the step of flowing ballast gas through the foreline network.

[0258] Implementation form 87 is any implementation form of this specification, in particular the method of implementation form 86, wherein the step of flowing ballast gas through the foreline network includes the step of adjusting the flow rate of ballast gas to maintain a minimum pressure in the processing chamber.

[0259] Implementation form 88 is a method comprising the steps of: flowing a cleaning gas through a process tool, the process tool comprising a processing chamber and a process gas exhaust system connected to the processing chamber, the process gas exhaust system being a first conduit connected to the process chamber via a foreline network, the foreline network comprising a first conduit connected to the outlet of the process chamber and a second conduit connected to the first conduit; and opening a first valve on the first conduit, the flow of cleaning gas exiting the foreline network and flowing through the first conduit.

[0260] Implementation form 89 is any implementation form of this specification, in particular the method of implementation form 88, further comprising the step of closing a second valve in a second conduit so that the second conduit is bypassed by a flow of cleaning gas.

[0261] Generally, a controller may be defined as an electronic device having various integrated circuits, logic, memory, and / or software that receive and issue instructions, control operations, enable cleaning operations, enable endpoint measurements, etc. The integrated circuit may include a chip in the form of firmware that stores program instructions, a chip defined as a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and / or one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers that execute program instructions (e.g., software). The program instructions may also be instructions communicated to the controller in the form of various individual settings (or program files) that define operating parameters for performing a specific process on or for a semiconductor wafer, or for the system, using process gases flowing from the processing chamber 106 through the foreline 102 where material from the process gas flow is deposited. In some examples, the operating parameters may be part of a recipe defined by a process engineer to achieve one or more processing steps during the manufacturing of one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon, silicon dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and / or wafer dies.

[0262] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “fluidically connected” is used with respect to volumes, plenums, holes, etc., that can be connected to each other, either directly or through one or more intervening components or volumes, in order to form a fluid connection, in the same way that the term “electrically connected” is used with respect to components that are connected together to form an electrical connection. The term “fluidically intervened” may be used, where used, to refer to a component, volume, plenum, or hole that is fluidly connected to at least two other components, volumes, plenums, or holes, such that a fluid flowing from one of those components, volumes, plenums, or holes to the other or other of those components, volumes, plenums, or holes first flows through the “fluidically intervened” component before reaching the other or other of those components, volumes, plenums, or holes. For example, if a pump is fluidically intervened between a reservoir and an outlet, the fluid flowing from the reservoir to the outlet will first flow through the pump before reaching the outlet. The term "fluidically adjacent," when used, refers to the arrangement of two fluid elements relative to one another such that there is no potential fluidically intervening structure between the two elements that could potentially interfere with the fluid flow between them. For example, in a flow path having a first valve, a second valve, and a third valve arranged in a continuous line along it, the first valve is fluidically adjacent to the second valve, the second valve is fluidically adjacent to both the first and third valves, and the third valve is fluidly adjacent to the second valve.

[0263] In this specification, the term "between" when used in conjunction with a range of values ​​should be understood to include the start and end values ​​of that range unless otherwise indicated. For example, 1–5 should be understood to include not only the numbers 2, 3, and 4, but also the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

[0264] The above description is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the Disclosure, its uses, or any application. The broad teachings of this Disclosure can be implemented in various forms. Therefore, while this Disclosure includes certain examples, the true scope of this Disclosure should not be limited in this way, as other modifications become apparent when considering the drawings, specification, and the claims below. For clarity, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings to identify similar elements. In this specification, the phrase "at least one of A, B, and C" should be interpreted as meaning a logic (A, B, or C) using the non-exclusive logic OR. It should be understood that one or more steps within a method may be performed in a different order (or simultaneously) without altering the principles of this Disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0265] 100 Semiconductor processing system, 102 Foreline, 103 Foreline network, 104 Focal area, 105 Outlet conduit, 106 Processing chamber, 108 Internal volume, 109 Exhaust port, 110 Wafer support, 111 Bonding area, 112 Substrate, 113 Material, 114 Shower head, 115 Gas injector, 116 Foreline wall, 117 Ballast gas source, 118 Interior, 119a Processing station, 119b Processing station, 120 Exhaust interface, 122 Exhaust system, 126 RPS interface, 127 Metering valve, 128 Remote plasma source, 130 Nozzle, 131 Outer surface, 132 Plasma passage, 134 Tip, 136 First end portion, 137 Color, 138 Second end portion, 140 Inlet port, 142 Outlet port, 144 Nozzle wall, 146 Coolant passage, 150 First plenum, 152 Second plenum, 154 Third plenum, 158 Passage, 160 Opening, 162 Pendulum valve, 164 Sealing ring, 166 Movable gate, 168 Outer edge region, 170 Notch, 172 Seat, 174 Orifice, 176 Central region, 178 Inner circumference, 180 Gas distribution system, 182 Valve, 184 Gas source, 186 Controller, 188 Foreline plasma valve, 190 Gate valve, 192 Foreline cleaning plasma source, 196a First segment, 196b Second segment, 197a Linear section, 197b First nonlinear section, 197c Linear section, 197d First nonlinear section, 198 Chamber plasma valve, 199 Chamber cleaning plasma source, 202 foreline, 204 foreline, 213 material, 216 foreline wall, 218 interior, 226 RPS interface, 232 plasma passage, 233 tapered segment, 235 linear segment, 236 first end section, 238 second end section, 240 inlet port, 242 outlet port, 246 coolant passage, 2415 gas injector, 2418 conduit interior, 2423 outlet, 2425 central axis, 2427 supply line, 2497c conduit, 2515 gas injector, 2518 conduit interior, 2529 muffler, 2597c conduit, 260 opening, 262 valve, 300Semiconductor processing system, 302 Foreline, 303 Foreline network, 305 Foreline outlet conduit, 306 Processing chamber, 308 Chamber internal volume, 311a Joint, 311b Joint, 311c Segment, 314a Shower head, 314b Shower head, 314c Shower head, 314d Shower head, 315a Gas injector, 315b Gas injector, 317 Ballast gas source, 319a Box, 319b Box, 319c Box, 319d Box, 320 Exhaust interface, 321 Pressure sensor, 326 RPS interface, 328 RPS interface, 333 Flow controller, 362 Valve, 386 Controller, 396 Segment, 396a Segment, 396b Segment, 396c Upstream segment, 397a Linear section, 397b Nonlinear section, 397c Linear section, 398 Exhaust port, 398a Exhaust port, 398b Exhaust port, 398c Exhaust port, 398d Exhaust port, 400 Foreline antifouling assembly, 402 Catcher, 404 Accumulation surface, 406a Accumulation surface, 406b Accumulation surface, 408 Foreline segment, 410 Inlet end, 412 Outlet end, 414 Segment wall, 416 Flow path, 418 Longitudinal axis, 420 Support structure, 422 Device, 424 Conduit, 426 First end section, 428 Open end, 430 Rim, 432 Inlet, 434 Second end section, 435 Closed end, 436 Outer collar, 438 Annular flange, 440 Inner collar, 442 Column, 444 Outlet, 446 Passage, 448 Annular wall, 450 Direct impact section, 452 Radial arm, 502 Catcher, 518 Longitudinal axis, 524 Conduit, 526 First end section, 532 Inlet, 534 Second end section, 542 Side wall, 544 Outlet, 546 Passageway, 702 Catcher, 704 Accumulation surface, 708 Foreline segment, 720 Support structure, 736 Outer collar, 750 Direct impact section, 754 Panel, 756 Convex section, 758 Concave section, 802 Catcher, 808 Foreline segment, 820 Support structure, 836 Outer collar, 840 Support platform, 852 Radial arm, 860Post, 862 Shaft, 864 Tip, 926 RPS Interface, 930 Nozzle, 932 Plasma Passage, 936 First End Section, 938 Second End Section, 940a Inlet Port, 940b Inlet Port, 942a Outlet Port, 942b Outlet Port, 944 Nozzle Wall, 945 Heat Sink, 946a Coolant Passage, 946b Coolant Passage, 949 First Heat Sink, 951 Second Heat Sink, 953 Concave, 955 Concave, 957 Convex, 959 Convex, 961 Fastener, 963 Connector Line, 2123 Gas Injector Outlet, 2651 Block, 2653 Block, 2655 Block, 2657 Block, 2659 Block, 2700 Process Tool, 2702 Vacuum Chamber, 2704 Shower head, 2706 Shower head, 2708 Pedestal, 2710 Pedestal, 2712 Outlet port, 2714 Outlet port, 2716 Bottom wall, 2718 Foreline network, 2719 Conduit, 2720 Vacuum pump system, 2722 Foreline outlet conduit, 2724 Expansion section, 2726 Metering valve, 2728 Bypass conduit, 2730 Branch point, 2732 Re-entry point, 2734 Valve, 2736 Valve, 2738 Filter, 2740 Valve, 2742 Expansion section, 2744 Lower section, 2746 Opening, 2748 Conduit, 2750 Conduit, 2752 Flange, 3000 Process tool system, 3010 Flow controller, 3012 Conduit, 3020 Vacuum pump, 3030 cleaning gas inlet port, 3302 operation, 3304 operation, 3306 operation, 3308 operation, 3402 operation, 3404 operation, 3406 operation

Claims

1. A processing chamber for defining the internal volume, A foreline, which is fluidly connected to the internal volume and configured to receive process gas from the internal volume, wherein the foreline comprises a foreline network and a foreline outlet conduit downstream of the foreline network. A throttle valve in the foreline outlet conduit, having a movable gate with an orifice and configured to control the flow of gas through the foreline, A gas injector located within the foreline network and configured to guide ballast gas into the conduits of the foreline network, A semiconductor processing system equipped with the following features.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the gas injector has an outlet located in the center of the conduit.

3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gas injector has an outlet having a circular cross-section.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the conduit has an internal bore diameter about 2 to 6 times the diameter of the outlet.

5. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gas injector has an outlet having a pneumatic exhaust muffler.

6. The aforementioned foreline network is A first segment spanning between the first exhaust port and the joint of the processing chamber, A second segment spanning between the second exhaust port of the processing chamber and the joint, It includes a third segment that spans between the joint and the foreline and is fluidly interposed between the joint and the foreline, The system according to claim 1, wherein the conduit is part of the third segment such that the gas injector is positioned along the third segment and configured to guide the ballast gas flow into the third segment.

7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a catcher in the foreline outlet conduit and downstream of the movable gate, wherein the gas flowing through the foreline is configured to come into contact with the catcher.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the catcher comprises a storage surface configured to collide with the gas flowing through the foreline.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein when the throttle valve is in the closed position, the gas is configured to flow through the orifice into the catcher.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein the catcher further comprises an inlet configured to receive the gas and a plurality of outlets.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the throttle valve is a pendulum valve.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the movable gate includes aluminum.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the movable gate comprises stainless steel and an aluminum coating.

14. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a remote plasma source interface (RPS interface) having a plasma passage that is fluidly connected to the foreline outlet conduit downstream of the internal volume and configured to guide a remote plasma flow into the foreline outlet conduit.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the RPS interface is fluidly interposed between the foreline network and the throttle valve.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein the plasma passage is configured to guide the plasma flow along a direction having a component parallel to the central axis of the foreline outlet conduit.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the plasma passage is configured to guide the plasma flow along a direction between 30 and 60 degrees with respect to the central axis of the foreline outlet conduit.

18. The system according to claim 14, wherein the plasma passage is configured to guide the plasma flow along a direction having a component perpendicular to the central axis of the foreline outlet conduit.

19. The system according to claim 14, wherein the RPS interface further comprises a nozzle that defines the plasma path and extends into the interior of the foreline outlet conduit.

20. The plasma passage has a first end portion and a second end portion configured to guide the plasma flow into the foreline outlet conduit, The first end portion has a first diameter, The system according to claim 14, wherein the second end portion has a second diameter smaller than the first diameter.

21. The system according to claim 14, wherein the RPS interface further comprises a nozzle having one or more internal coolant channels configured to define the plasma passage and to allow coolant to flow.

22. The RPS interface is A nozzle defining the aforementioned plasma path, The system according to claim 14, further comprising one or more heat sinks thermally bonded to the outer surface of the nozzle, each having one or more coolant passages configured to allow a coolant to flow through them.

23. A ballast gas source is fluidly connected to the gas injector, The system according to claim 1, further comprising: one or more controllers having one or more processors and one or more memories for storing instructions for controlling the system, wherein the instructions are configured to, during one or more processing operations, cause one or more of the one or more controllers to instruct one or more of the one or more processors to supply ballast gas to the foreline network through the gas injector.

24. The system further comprises a pressure sensor configured to detect the pressure upstream of the gas injector, and the instruction is transmitted to one or more processors. One controller receives a signal from the pressure sensor, The system according to claim 23, further configured to cause the ballast gas to flow through the gas injector based on the detected pressure, thereby maintaining a portion of the foreline network within a pressure range.

25. The system according to claim 24, wherein one of the controllers is an upstream pressure controller.

26. The system according to claim 24, wherein the ballast gas is flowed using proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control to maintain the portion of the foreline network within the pressure range.

27. The system according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the pressure sensor is configured to measure the pressure within the internal volume.

28. The system according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the pressure range is about 7 Torr to about 11 Torr, about 14 Torr to about 18 Torr, or about 16 Torr to about 20 Torr.

29. The system according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the instruction is further configured to cause one or more processors to close the throttle valve while the ballast gas flows through the gas injector.

30. The system according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the one or more processing operations include the step of depositing one or more materials onto a substrate.

31. The system according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the instruction is further configured to cause one or more processors to control the pressure in the internal volume of the throttle valve during one or more other operations that are not the one or more processing operations.

32. The system according to claim 31, wherein one other operation is a cleaning operation.

33. A remote plasma source (RPS) configured to generate remote plasma, Further comprising a remote plasma source interface (RPS interface) located downstream of the internal volume, having a plasma passage fluidly connected to the foreline and the RPS, and configured to guide the remote plasma flow from the RPS to the foreline outlet conduit, The instruction is given to one or more processors, The RPS is used to generate the remote plasma, During the cleaning operation, the remote plasma is directed into the foreline outlet conduit. The system according to claim 32, further configured as follows.

34. The system according to claim 32, wherein the instruction is further configured to cause one or more processors to prevent the ballast gas from flowing through the gas injector during the cleaning operation.

35. A method for semiconductor processing, A step of depositing one or more materials on a substrate in a processing chamber, wherein the processing chamber defines an internal volume and is fluidly connected to a foreline, the foreline having a foreline network fluidly connected to the internal volume and configured to receive a process gas from the internal volume, The steps include: maintaining the throttle valve in a closed position during the deposition, wherein the throttle valve has a movable gate having an orifice located in the foreline outlet conduit of the foreline and is configured to control the gas flow through the foreline, and the foreline outlet conduit is located downstream of the foreline network and is configured to be fluidly connected to the foreline network and to be fluidly connected to the exhaust system; A method comprising the step of flowing ballast gas through a gas injector into the conduits of the foreline network during the deposition.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the step of flowing the ballast gas includes the step of maintaining the pressure of a portion of the foreline network within a pressure range.

37. The method according to claim 35, wherein the step of flowing the ballast gas includes the step of controlling the pressure in the internal volume.

38. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 37, further comprising the step of detecting the pressure upstream of the gas injector, wherein the step of flowing the ballast gas is at least partially based on the detected pressure.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein the step of detecting the pressure includes the step of detecting the pressure in the internal volume of the processing chamber.

40. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 37, further comprising the step of performing one or more other operations other than the deposition, wherein the one or more other operations are performed while the throttle valve is not in the closed position and the ballast gas is not flowing into the conduit.

41. The step of flowing the ballast gas includes the step of maintaining the pressure of a portion of the foreline network within a pressure range. The method according to claim 40, wherein during one or more other operations, the foreline network is in a second pressure range smaller than the pressure range.

42. The method according to claim 40, wherein one other operation is a cleaning operation.

43. The method according to claim 42, further comprising the step of flowing remote plasma from a remote plasma source (RPS) to a remote plasma source interface (RPS interface) fluidly connected to the foreline outlet conduit and the RPS, downstream of the internal volume, during the cleaning operation, wherein the plasma passage is configured to guide the remote plasma flow from the RPS to the foreline outlet conduit.

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